Angela Koech
Dr. Angela Koech is a Kenyan obstetrician–gynaecologist and clinical scientist devoted to reducing pregnancy-related morbidity in Africa. An alumna of the University of Nairobi (MBChB) and Aga Khan University (MMed Obs/Gyn), she is now Assistant Professor at Aga Khan University’s Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health, East Africa, where she mentors residents and MPH scholars while directing a busy high-risk pregnancy clinic in Nairobi.
Koech is Kenya co-principal investigator for PRECISE—a Wellcome-funded, multicountry cohort tracking 10,000 women to unravel the biological and social drivers of placental disorders and stillbirth. Her laboratory team is mapping angiogenic and immunologic signatures of pre-eclampsia with the aim of developing a low-cost blood panel for first-trimester screening. She also leads POC-Mama, a Grand Challenges–supported trial that is introducing smartphone-linked haemoglobin, proteinuria, and blood-pressure devices to 40 rural antenatal clinics in Kilifi and Siaya counties; interim results show a 45 percent drop in undiagnosed anaemia.
Beyond research, Dr. Koech sits on Kenya’s National Maternal Mortality Surveillance Committee, helped draft the 2024 Ministry of Health guideline on magnesium-sulfate use, and co-chairs the FIGO Sub-Saharan Task Force on Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy. A frequent Lancet and BMJ Global Health author, she received the 2023 Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists President’s Medal for her contributions to maternal-health equity.