Michael Anderson

Michael Anderson is a recognised leader in global health and development, with more than 30 years’ experience working in Africa, the Middle East, and India, and a career spanning government, business, and non-profit sectors. Throughout his career, he has sought to pioneer new approaches to tackle entrenched system failures, particularly by championing the use of rigorous analysis and partnership to challenge inequality.

Michael founded MedAccess with British International Investment in 2017, aiming to create a unique social enterprise using innovative finance and multi-sectoral partnerships to shape healthcare markets, breaking down the barriers that prevent health products reaching people who need them.

As Chief Executive Officer and Board member, Michael has overseen MedAccess’ growth from initial concept to trusted partner, deploying flexible capital to shoulder financial risk and facilitate partnerships that respond to the priorities of governments, procurers and manufacturers, enabling them to increase access to health products at affordable prices.

Under Michael’s leadership MedAccess’ bespoke agreements have helped diagnostics, treatments and other health technologies reach 530 million people in more than 95 countries and saved more than $91 million for governments and procurers.

Michael has held senior positions in the UK government, including as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on international development goals and Director General at the Department of International Development (DFID). During his years in government, he supervised an annual aid budget of over £5 billion, oversaw the UK’s role in the drafting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), served on the UN Commission for Life-Saving Commodities, and sat on various committees for the UN, World Bank, G7, G20, and OECD.

Following his tenure with the UK Government, Michael served as CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), growing the programme portfolio by more than 400% over three years to focus on key priorities in global health and climate change.

Michael’s early professional background spans a range of disciplines including law, academia, and medicine. He co-founded Bazian Ltd., a company providing statistical products for evidence-based medicine, now part of the Economist Group. Earlier, he spent 15 years as a legal consultant, working with barrister chambers and City of London law firms, specialising in cross-border litigation, international disputes, human rights, trade law, and environmental law. He was also Director of Studies at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.

Michael has served on the boards of several organisations, including the Global Innovation Fund, The Freedom Fund, Abt Associates, the Soros Fiscal Governance Programme, the Power of Nutrition, and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. He holds degrees from the University of Washington, SOAS, and University of Oxford, and has held academic appointments at the London School of Economics and SOAS.

In 2014, Michael was appointed to the chivalric Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his services to international development.

Email Michael: [email protected]