Dr. Chrys Promesse K. Kaniki is a Congolese Medical Doctor, public health expert, and PhD candidate in Reproductive Health Sciences. With thirteen years of continental experience, he has built his career at the intersection of youth health workforce development, digital health innovation, and public health leadership pipelines across African Union Member States. Dr. Kaniki is the former (founding) Head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Youth Division, where he served as Senior Technical Officer for Strategic Programmes, based at the African Union Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa. He directed the Africa CDC Strategy for Youth Engagement and Participation in Global Health (YES!Health Strategy) 2025-2028, which anchors youth integration into workforce development, financing, and digital health pillars across the continent's health agenda. He established the Bingwa PLUS Y-Health Incubator Programme, which bridges youth-led health startups with seed grants, technical mentorship, and institutional support, and spearheaded the Africa Youth in Digital Health Network (1,800+ members) and the Young Digital Health Champions Network, which has embedded 50 young innovators into policy-facing roles. He also led the establishment of the inaugural Africa CDC Youth Advisory Team for Health (YAT4H), institutionalizing youth representation in continental decision-making, and led the African Union COVID-19 Bingwa Initiative, mobilizing over 300 youth vaccination champions. Through these platforms, Dr. Kaniki has convened and mentored emerging health leaders at major continental fora, including the CPHIA Youth Pre-Conferences, the AHAIC Youth Pre-Summit, the Africa HealthTech Summits, and the Reproductive Health Network Kenya's Pan-African Youth Leadership Academy, where his mentorship was recognized with an Award of Excellence in 2026. He has also served as a trainer for national institutes of public health and communication officers across the continent, and as a skilled trainer for the Youth Career Accelerator in Health Programme, in partnership with the Empower School of Health, Geneva, and UNITAR, guiding young professionals through the evolving landscape of health careers. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kaniki worked as an HIV, Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme Officer in DR Congo, building the capacity of over 100 community-based organizations, and as a Public Health Communication Officer leading Ebola response deployments and regional risk communication training. This trajectory, from frontline community health work to shaping continental workforce and innovation policy, informs his perspective on how young health professionals are recruited, resourced, and retained, and on the pressures commercial and institutional forces exert on that pipeline. Dr. Kaniki holds a Doctor of Medicine in Surgery and Childbirth and a B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Mbuji-Mayi, DR Congo. He is fluent in English and French and speaks Lingala, Tshiluba, and Swahili natively.