Multidisciplinary Development Expert, Public Servant
Côte d’Ivoire

Aïda Alassane N’Diaye-Riddick is a highly accomplished, multidisciplinary development expert with experience across a range of areas including education, health, and poverty alleviation.

She is currently serving as the Country Manager for Teaching at the Right Level Africa (TaRL Africa), a new, high-profile initiative jointly led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Indian education NGO Pratham. Through an evidence-based approach, TaRL helps children develop basic reading and mathematics skills, opening doors to a brighter future. In this role, Aïda manages the initiative’s country team and operations and coordinates closely with the Ministry of Education.

From 2016-2018, as part of Côte d’Ivoire’s partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Aïda led the development of the country’s $524 MCC Compact program. In this role, she was responsible for programmatic and financial management, including strategic planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of program activities. She also led ongoing consultations with representatives of ministries, the private sector, civil society and development partners.

Prior to this role, she served as National Coordinator of Côte d’Ivoire’s Threshold Unit, a cross-sectoral initiative focused on poverty alleviation. As a result of this work, the country was selected for the development of an MCC Compact program.

Her previous experience has also included work focused on child immunization with the GAVI Initiative, poverty alleviation with the World Bank, and HIV/AIDS with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Hartford, and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration and Policy (MHSA, 1994) from the George Washington University. She is fluently bilingual (English and French).