Samuel Mukandi is a harm reduction consumer advocate who has steered a national movement for adult access to safer nicotine alternatives. He is the director of THR DR. Congo, the only harm reduction-focused consumer nonprofit in the country. He is also a board member of Campaign for Safer Alternatives, an umbrella body of over 14 national groups. Mr. Mukandi’s core objective is to agitate for a conducive environment for low-risk nicotine alternatives and ultimately a progression of the Democratic Republic of Congo region towards a smoke-free future. He is currently undertaking a Master’s degree course in health education at the University of Lubumbashi.

Core Competencies

 

• Detail oriented with excellent negotiation skills.

 

• Ability to communicative effectively in English, French, Swahili and Lingala.

 

• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills.

 

• Comprehensive knowledge of interpreting financial data and estimating costs.

 

• Possess leadership skills, organizational and time management skills.

 

• Strong Knowledge of Microsoft Office Package (Excel Word power point).

 

• Ability to handle multiple tasks independently and work under pressure.

Personal attributes

 

• Dynamic team-leader of high integrity.

 

• Highly results oriented.
• Customer and targets focused.

 

Career Summary

 

Tobacco Harm Reduction DR Congo                                                                       May 2019 – Present

Chairman of The Board

 

• Leading the Board and Executive Committee to carry out its governance functions.
• Ensuring the Board has approved policies to help ensure sound and compliant governance and management of the organization.
• Partnering with the CEO to lead the development and refinement of impact metrics.
• Assessing the performance of the Board and its committees.
• Assuring ongoing recruitment, development, and contributions of Board members.
• Partnering with the CEO to help ensure the Board’s directives, policies, and resolutions are carried out.
• Working with the CEO in cultivating and soliciting major foundation grants and individual gifts.
• Coordinating an annual performance review of the CEO.
• Setting priorities and creating agendas for meetings of the Board and Executive Committee.
• Presiding over meetings of the Board and Executive Committee.
• Serving as an ambassador of the organization and advocating its mission to internal and external stakeholders.

 

PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS IN DRC

• An interactive website that shares accurate information on tobacco harm reduction to promote evidence base. It is the basic go-to source of information here in the Democratic republic of Congo. It can be found here https://thrcongo.org/
• THR DRC has more than 11 THR Ambassadors in DRC in total, who help the organization to nudge THR in the country.
• Through workshops organized twice a year we manage to share accurate information on nicotine and tobacco harm reduction with government, this affects how policy is formed in the country.
• Through our social media platforms our targeted audience gain better understanding of nicotine and tobacco harm reduction and understanding on nicotine, and the potential of safer nicotine products. We conduct digital advocacy on our social media platforms three times a year (Facebook, twitter) to enable nicotine consumers in Congo DRC to make informed choices.

 

 

Campaign for Safe Alternatives                                                                              Feb 2019 – Present   

Board Member

 

• Attending board and committee meetings
• Carefully preparing for meetings in advance
• Reviewing financial reports and other critical information regularly
• Exercising independent judgment
• Requesting information needed for decision making
• Making sure federal, state and specific industry filing requirements are met
• Acting in good faith when making decisions
• Adhering to the conflict of interest policy
• Disclosing all conflicts
• Avoiding the use of the organization’s opportunities for personal gain
• Maintaining confidentiality of information held by the organization.
• Ensuring compliance with all reporting requirements
• Examining all legal and governing documents
• Making decisions within the scope of the mission and law.

 

	Area of Learning		Provider	Year
	Master’s degree in health education		University of Lubumbashi	2023 (on going)
	Diploma in Marketing and Public Relations		Institute of Commercial Management
	Management		Zambia	2017
	Advanced Diploma in Computer Electronics an		Graffins College, Nairobi Kenya	Sep 2002 – Sep
	Engineering, Networking			2004
	Excelled in IGCSE Cambridge International Examination		Allumini Academy, Nairobi Kenya	Jan 1998 – may
				2002