Her Story
About Priscilla
Priscilla Idele has dedicated her career to global health evidence and international development. Born in Kenya in 1961, she earned a business education degree after not securing a place in business studies, followed by a Master's in population studies and a PhD in social statistics from the University of Southampton on a Commonwealth scholarship. After lecturing at the University of Nairobi, she moved to the United States in 2002 and entered international development through a private company in Silver Spring, Maryland. Over 40 years, including nearly 21 years with the United Nations in New York, Idele has led data and analytics teams and research teams across more than 90 countries. As chief of data and analytics at UNICEF, her analysis of household surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa demonstrated that targeting only HIV-affected children missed many vulnerable youth, leading to broader global support strategies and earning her an award of excellence for research at the International AIDS Conference in Vienna in 2010. She has also been nominated as a human of UNICEF for her inclusive leadership. Idele is a member of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, the Population Association of America, the African Union for Population Studies, and serves as a board member of I Am The Code, an NGO equipping young women with digital skills. She attributes her success to resilience, focus, identifying strategic gaps, boldly challenging assumptions, investing in teams, and collaborative leadership. Her core values include respect, care, integrity, trust, and accountability.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Priscilla
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience, being focused, identifying gaps in strategies and programs, challenging assumptions boldly and fearlessly, investing in people and teams, and being a team player who brings everyone together rather than positioning myself above them. My teams value me for the good things I did and remember the positive impact.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Nothing is impossible. Believe in yourself. Challenge assumptions. Respect others, work with integrity so you can be seen as trusted and accountable. Growing up we were told girls cannot do sciences, but I broke that and pursued what I believed in.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
International development is under a global crisis with funding challenges from contributions. Data and evidence is the last thing funded or thought about in planning, yet all decisions rely on it. As a woman, gender bias exists with males preferred for higher positions even in the United Nations.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Respect, care, integrity, trust, and accountability. Respect begets respect. Everybody needs to be cared for. Maintaining integrity and practicing what you preach. Trust once broken is hard to rebuild. Accountability for actions matters.
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