Pamela Gado’s Impact through USAID’s FANTA Initiative Across Nigeria

By Ugo Aliogo

In the complex landscape of global development, where food security, health, and policy intersect, Pamela Gado has distinguished herself as a leader whose work transcends borders. As a Program Manager at USAID Nigeria, her influence extends beyond national boundaries, shaping nutrition policy, advancing technical excellence, and fostering collaboration across governments, donors, and development partners.
Pamela’s journey with the Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA I & II) initiative, implemented by FHI 360, reflects her unique ability to bridge the gap between science and strategy, policy and practice. Through her technical insight and leadership, she helped transform FANTA into a globally recognized platform for evidence-based nutrition programming and policy innovation.

Building the Foundations of Global Nutrition Policy

Pamela played a pivotal role in contributing to the development of global nutrition policies and frameworks, aligning them with the realities of low- and middle-income countries. Working closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), FHI 360, and global partners, she helped translate cutting-edge research into actionable policy guidance that countries could adopt and adapt.
Her work emphasized a systems-based approach to nutrition, recognizing that achieving sustainable improvements requires coordinated action across agriculture, health, education, and social protection sectors. She helped integrate nutrition-sensitive policies into broader development agendas, ensuring that interventions addressed not only immediate dietary needs but also the structural drivers of malnutrition.

Pamela’s efforts contributed to the formulation of national nutrition strategies in several countries, including Nigeria, by embedding global standards within locally relevant frameworks. Her technical guidance helped national stakeholders design comprehensive action plans that link food systems, health service delivery, and social behavior change communication.

A cornerstone of Pamela’s contribution to the FANTA initiative was her leadership in coordinating technical assistance for country-led nutrition initiatives. She understood that real impact happens when local ownership meets global expertise. Through her coordination, FANTA became a trusted partner for governments seeking to build strong institutional capacity and operationalize nutrition commitments.
Pamela facilitated cross-sectoral collaboration, bringing together ministries of health, agriculture, education, and finance, to ensure that national nutrition policies were not siloed but harmonized. Her approach emphasized sustainability, helping countries move from donor-dependent projects to locally owned programs driven by evidence and accountability.
She also supported the design and dissemination of technical resources, including guidelines, monitoring tools, and training materials, that strengthened the ability of local institutions to plan, implement, and evaluate nutrition interventions. Many of these tools have become standard references across development programs, used by practitioners, policymakers, and researchers alike.

Pamela’s role extended far beyond technical coordination. She became a catalyst for knowledge-sharing, connecting experts and institutions across continents to foster innovation in nutrition programming. Through her facilitation of technical working groups and stakeholder consultations, she created platforms for dialogue where policymakers, researchers, and practitioners could align priorities and share lessons learned.

Her collaborative approach helped bridge the traditional divide between policy and practice. Under her guidance, FANTA’s technical forums became incubators of new ideas, spaces where evidence was not only discussed but translated into policy recommendations and field-level action.
Pamela also played an active role in engaging development partners, including UN agencies, bilateral donors, and civil society organizations, to align efforts and reduce duplication. Her diplomacy and systems thinking turned multi-stakeholder coordination from a challenge into an opportunity for synergy and innovation.

Resource Mobilization and Strategic Donor Engagement

Recognizing that sound policies require strong financial backing, Pamela championed resource mobilization and donor engagement strategies that expanded the reach and sustainability of nutrition initiatives. She worked with USAID and implementing partners to articulate compelling investment cases for nutrition, highlighting not just the humanitarian imperative but the economic returns of well-nourished populations.

Her contributions to donor engagement were both technical and relational. Pamela built partnerships rooted in transparency, mutual respect, and shared vision. By aligning program outcomes with donor priorities, she helped secure critical funding that enabled countries to scale up proven nutrition interventions and invest in institutional capacity.

Pamela’s leadership within the FANTA initiative exemplifies how strategic vision and technical expertise can transform development programs into systems that endure. She consistently championed capacity development, ensuring that local experts gained the skills and confidence to lead long after external support had ended.

Her ability to navigate complex policy environments and unite diverse stakeholders around common goals has been central to FANTA’s global success. She embodies the principle that sustainable change is not imposed, it is built collaboratively, through trust, evidence, and shared purpose.

Through her work with FANTA I and II, Pamela Gado helped lay the foundation for a new era in nutrition programming, one that is data-driven, inclusive, and grounded in country leadership. Her influence can be traced across continents, from the refinement of global nutrition guidelines to the strengthening of local systems that deliver real results for families and communities.

At USAID Nigeria, she continues to apply the same rigor and compassion that defined her work with FANTA: aligning global frameworks with local realities, strengthening health systems, and empowering national institutions to sustain progress. Her career is a testament to the power of collaboration and the impact of strategic leadership in shaping a healthier, more equitable world.

Pamela Gado’s legacy is not just measured in the policies she helped craft or the resources she mobilized; it lives in the strengthened systems, empowered professionals, and nourished lives that her work continues to touch across the globe.