UP CLOSE with Dr Jude Padayachy |20 June 2017

‘Humility and simplicity’ best describe this Seselwa

 When I first met Dr Jude Padayachy, I was struck by his serene nature and humility. Even if he has several degrees, this son of Seychelles has his feet on the ground and makes his country proud wherever he may be working.

He served in various government departments in Seychelles before going abroad to work with the United Nations.

In today’s Up Close section, we bring you a story about the man and his remarkable achievements.

Who is Dr Jude Padayachy?  

His response is simply: “Mon en Seselwa” translated into English as “I am a Seychellois”.

“I hail from Belonie on Mahé. My ancestors are from India, Europe and Africa. I was born to a young unmarried nurse/midwife. During the colonial era, pregnant unmarried nurses were expelled from service. At the time, there were also no possibilities for practising nursing, locally outside government service and so she left for the United Kingdom (UK) where she studied, obtained UK certification and found work. I was raised by my aunties and have very fond childhood memories growing up with all my cousins who regarded me as their big brother,” says Dr Padayachy.

He is married to Lisa (née Accouche) and they have four sons ‒ David, Shiv, Sami and Sean. They are blessed with three grandchildren ‒ Elyana, Zayne and Kaylen.

Most memorable days in his childhood

Dr Padayachy cherishes the memorable days spent in the company of his grandfather at the latter’s shop at Belonie.

“I learned many things from him, especially about the origin of the Padayachy ancestry as warriors in ancient India. I also enjoyed school vacations with my cousins, especially with Aubrey and Serge at Anse à la Mouche. I have fond memories growing up at Belonie, Lodge Street, Moosa Lane, Saint Louis and Mont Fleuri,” adds Dr Padayachy.

His days as an adolescent and young man 

Although being far from his mother, Dr Padayachy knew that having the right ‘entourage’ would help him grow and mature.

He says: “As an adolescent, I felt that life had deeper purpose and meaning than mere physical existence and so I embarked on a journey to try and find answers to the many questions I had in this regard. At one point, I studied yoga, metaphysics and the different religions with the encouragement and accompaniment of very good friends, including Henry Naiken with whom we explored the martial arts and mental disciplines, which culminated in my interest in the Baha’i faith. These were my formative years.”

Further studies

As a young man, Dr Padayachy’s interest was always in the well-being of humanity.

“At UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids), we believe that ending the Aids epidemic is a scientific, political and social undertaking. Many improvements in human conditions have their roots in a synergic combination of political leadership, science and proper management of development implementation. I initially read for a certificate, then a diploma in Statistics at the Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre in Dar-es-Salaam. I consequently pursued a post graduate certificate in Statistics and an MSc Social Statistics degree at the University of Southampton,” says Dr Padayachy.

As a statistician, he directed his continuous learning and professional development to include a Master’s degree in Business Administration with the University of Surrey, MSc in Economic management and policy with the University of Strathclyde, MA in International Relations and World Order with the University of Leicester and a Doctorate in Business Leadership with the University of South Africa. All these have equipped him with the understanding to work for the improvement of human conditions.

Passion for karate and music

Those who know Jude identify him as a karate enthusiast.

As a teenager he trained in Kime Ryu karate with Sensei Antoine Young. However, serious learning of the discipline for him occurred under the guidance of Henry Naiken. He began to understand karate 27 years ago when he took up Kyokushin karate under the guidance of Shihan Philip Moustache.

“I still attend black belt seminars in Switzerland and France and to date I hold a second dan black belt. Kyokushin karate teaches discipline and perseverance, it is a way of living meaningfully and with passion,” says Dr Padayachy.

The art of music is divine according to Dr Padayachy and he describes it as “the food of the soul and spirit”.

“In music myriads arts and sciences lay hidden. I started playing the guitar as a teenager, and together with some friends, we performed at the Seychelles College Secondary School, where I was a student at the time, and at Saturday afternoon mass. I later learned music theory and the flute at the School of Music and classical guitar under the guidance of David André. On several occasions, I performed with some well-known Seychellois artists in hotels as a pastime,” adds Dr Padayachy.

His work in Seychelles

Dr Padayachy started working at a very young age. He wanted to be an environmental health officer with the Ministry of Health, but it did not work out and he went into statistics. After completing his MSc in Statistics he worked as a statistician with the Ministry of Health and subsequently with the WHO. He was subsequently invited to take up the post of director general for planning, research and statistics in the Ministry of Health. He was then offered the position of director general of the Management and Information Systems Division (MISD) in the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, after which he took sabbatical leave to again work with the United Nations.

But after a few years he came back to Seychelles.

“I was invited to return to Seychelles some years later as the chief executive of the National Statistics Bureau and chairperson of the National Statistics Council. After 2 ½ years, I resigned to take a position with the United Nations, this time based in Madagascar as a strategic information advisor,” says Dr Padayachy.

Various assignments with the UN

Dr Padayachy is one of the few Seychellois who have spent many years working for an international organisation.

His first assignment was as a technical officer for Health Systems Research (HSR) with the WHO in Zimbabwe.

“We covered 19 countries, facilitating hundreds of research projects which assisted governments in the Southern, Central and Eastern Africa to improve their health policy and programmes. The research results were documented in monographs and the HSR newsletter and journal,” says Dr Padayachy.

His second assignment was as a technical officer for the world health survey at the WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) in Brazzaville, Congo. He also carried out a few country support missions to strengthen their health information systems.

From there, he joined the UNAIDS as the monitoring and evaluation advisor in South Africa, at a time when there was some controversy there as to the cause of Aids and the prevalence.

“Many organisations and universities published conflicting estimates of prevalence and there was perennial acrimonious disagreements using the media as a battleground. We managed to bring all the stakeholders together, showed that the epidemic was following a Weibull distribution fitting the model with survey and programme data, and the estimates were agreed upon by all parties,” explains Dr Padayachy.

He subsequently worked as a strategic information advisor in the Indian Ocean Inter-country Office based in Madagascar, covering Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles. 

“I now work as a senior strategic information adviser at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, where I have served on several UN ‘Inter-Agency Expert Groups’, mentored junior professional officers and interns, contributed to the several WHO and UNAIDS flagship publications, and coordinated the analysis and write-up of chapter six in the last three Millennium Development Goals (MDG) reports. I was guest editor of the AIDS and Behaviour journal supplement on lessons learnt in the last 15 years of monitoring the HIV and Aids epidemic to be published in July 2017. AIDS and Behaviour is a peer-reviewed medical journal providing an international venue for the scientific exchange of research and scholarly work on the contributing factors, prevention, consequences, social impact, and response to HIV and Aids.

“I have spent 13 years with the United Nations and secured all the jobs through transparent competitive processes, meeting the technical skills and educational qualifications requirements, writing selection exams, and competency based interviews. With my assignment in Geneva coming to an end in June 2017, I am considering various options,” he concludes.

With people like Dr Padayachy making a difference on the world stage, Seychelles has reasons to be proud!

By Vidya Gappy