He fits in every space he occupies. One moment he is casually entertaining his audience about his love for God, humanity, and politics like a TV talk show pundit, and the next takes on a serious gaze as he discusses numbers and key performance indicators. If something isn’t adding up, and he will get to the bottom of it before the sun sets.

Edward Zzimbe—commonly called Eddie—is Living Goods Uganda’s Deputy Country Director and heads the Program Delivery team, which is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of programs in the field.

For more than two decades, Eddie has led groundbreaking work in reproductive and maternal health in East Africa. He was at the forefront of normalizing condom use in Uganda when it was stigmatized and looked at as a tool of promiscuity. Additionally, he presided over Uganda’s biggest social and behavior change campaign, The Sexual Network, which won many local and international awards. “I have a solid track record of delivering exceptional results through my unique leadership style that drives teams to success. I have been able to turn unproductive, discouraged teams into star performers in a record time,” he says, emphasizing that he has seen a similar transformation in the performance levels of the Living Goods Uganda team since he joined the organization in early 2019.

Eddie is also an official champion for our new five-year strategic plan and emceed the internal launch event for all staff.  He says rallying others around it comes naturally, emphasizing that this is not business as usual. “The cutting-edge approach to our work; using technology to improve the quality of healthcare delivery makes us business leaders, transforming community health. The whole notion of us continually reinventing ourselves, and finding more efficient ways of saving lives, keeps me alive and awake.”

In the coming months, team Uganda will be working out the details of “how” to successfully implement the strategy, given the government’s competing priorities. It will require a willingness to fail, learn, and unlearn. Eddie says, “I want the legacy of my leadership here to be reflected in the government’s adoption and investment in a digitally-enabled, equipped, supervised and compensated approach to deliver community health in Uganda.”

For a man who also doubles as an author, motivational speaker, and mentor for young people, this is not too high a mountain to climb, or an unreasonable desire.