Office of the Deputy Head
Mr. Yusuf Seid
A public health strategist serving as principal deputy to the Bureau Head. Charged with translating regional health policy into daily operations that touch every kebele, clinic, and household across Dire Dawa.
Professional Profile
Career Overview
Dr. Yusuf Seid was appointed Deputy Head of the Dire Dawa Health Bureau in November 2022, bringing seventeen years of clinical practice, district-level administration, and graduate public health training to the office. She serves as the Bureau's principal deputy—the operational counterweight to the Head's policy mandate.
His early career was spent on the wards of Dil Chora Regional Referral Hospital. The shift to public health was deliberate: "I wanted to treat the well, not only the sick." From 2014 he led the Bureau's Maternal and Child Health desk, overseeing the rollout of the Health Extension Programme across rural kebeles.
Before assuming the deputyship, Mr. Yusuf served for four years as Head of the Bureau's Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, coordinating the region's COVID-19 response. She holds an MPH from Addis Ababa University and is a member of the Ethiopian Public Health Association.
Core Mandate
Operational Stewardship
Directs the day-to-day work of the Bureau's five core process owners, ensuring policy is translated into work plans, budgets, and measurable service delivery.
Public Health Programs
Oversees maternal and child health, immunization, communicable disease control, and health extension programming across the region.
Emergency Preparedness
Chair of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre. Leads outbreak investigation and cross-border health security.
System Strengthening
Drives health workforce planning, supply chain reliability, and the digitalization of the Health Management Information System.
Federal-Regional Liaison
Serves as principal operational counterpart to the Federal Ministry of Health and partner agencies.
Acting for the Head
Exercises the full authority of the Bureau Head in their absence, signing directives and presiding over management committees.
Career Trajectory
Deputy Head of Bureau
Dire Dawa Health Bureau
Principal deputy to the Head. Chairs Technical Operations Committee. Supervises five core process owners and a regional workforce of 2,400+ across 84 health facilities.
Head, Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
Dire Dawa Health Bureau
Led regional COVID-19 response, surveillance strengthening, and cross-border coordination. Directed outbreak response for measles and acute watery diarrhoea events.
Maternal & Child Health Desk Head
Dire Dawa Health Bureau
Oversaw rollout of the Health Extension Programme across 38 rural kebeles. Regional immunization coverage rose from 71% to 89% during tenure.
Medical Officer & General Practitioner
Dil Chora Regional Referral Hospital / Dire Dawa Polyclinic
Clinical duties in internal medicine and emergency settings. Part-time lecturer at Haramaya University's College of Health and Medical Sciences.
On the Work Ahead
"A health system is judged not by its strongest hospital, but by the quiet competence of its weakest clinic. Our work is to lift every clinic—every kebele, every post—toward the same standard of care."