Dr. Cheikh Mbacké Faye is a Researcher-Statistician and Public Health Specialist. Since January 2019, he has served as the Head of the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) regional office in West Africa, based in Dakar, Senegal. He is the current Director of the Countdown 2030 Initiative, a multi-institution collaborative that calls for the accountability of governments and development partners, identifies knowledge gaps and proposes new actions for universal coverage of women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. Dr. Faye completed his doctoral research in public health from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, presenting in-depth work on the determinants of stunting and child linear growth among under-five children living in Nairobi’s informal settlements. He holds a Master’s degree in Statistics from the Houari Boumediene University of Sciences and Technology, Algeria. Cheikh joined APHRC in 2010 as the Country Manager for the Measurement, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) project in Senegal. Cheikh’s experience includes research on reproductive health—behavioral surveys on HIV and STIs, post-abortion care and family planning—local development and poverty.