From his early life in a small town in Senegal, Cheikh Mbacké went on to drive a transformation of his chosen field of population and development in Africa. His argument: health and population data are not a peripheral pursuit, but fundamental to better health care and sustainable development. At the Rockefeller Foundation, among other leading international organizations, he helped propel a new generation of researchers and research institutions, and has led advances in regional thinking connecting demographics and economic growth. 

Dr. Mbacké, a statistician and population scientist by training, holds a BSc in Statistics from the Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics in Paris, an MSc in Demography from the Demographic Training and Research Institute in Yaoundé, Cameroon and a PhD in demography from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.