PROFILES OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR STWG-MNCWH

PROFILES OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL THEMATIC WORKING GROUP ON MATERNAL, NEONATAL, CHILDREN AND WOMEN HEALTH

PROFESSOR OLADOSU OJENGBEDE

Professor Oladosu Ojengbede is a Consultant in Obstetrics/Gynaecology and the Director of the Center for Population and Reproductive Health at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. In the past 8 years, Professor Ojengbede has been engaged in research into a number of interventional studies for reducing maternal/neonatal morbidity and mortality such as Social Support in labour, management of postpartum hemorrhage using non-pneumatic antishock garment. He has served as the lead for the Multicenter Family Health and Wealth study funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute at the John Hopkins University Baltimore USA. He has also contributed to improvement of women’s health by serving as the local PI to many cancer-related researches.

He has worked in collaboration with the University of Chicago on NIH, Fogarty International Center funded grants such as D43 training program titled, “International Partnership for Interdisciplinary Research Training in Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases and Disorders Across the Lifespan. He is also currently part of the team working on the research titled “Breast Cancer among the Women of African Origin” with a hope of developing a personalised treatment for African women living with cancers.

 In 2017, he won the Distinguished Award of Excellence in Clinical Services Efforts to improve the health of women in Nigeria. His core competencies include: teaching, mentoring, career counseling, developing new core curriculum, developing novel research ideas and following through. He has held many important positions and received awards, some of which include Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan between 1995 and 1996, UNFPA award, Outstanding Contribution in the Fight against Fistula, 2014 and Outstanding Contributions to Research and Innovation, University College Hospital, 2016. With his over 200 publications and articles, he has remarkably contributed to the development of translational and interdisciplinary researches in the country through the development of new areas of research and training in different cross-cutting areas.

PROFESSOR EKANEM EKURE

Ekanem Ekure is a Professor of Paediatrics at the College of Medicine, University of Lagosand Honorary Consultant in the Paediatric Cardiology Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She has had extensive training and exposure in paediatric cardiology both in local and foreign reputable medical institutions including The Heart Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Ohio, USA and Frontier Lifeline International Centre for Cardio-thoracic and Vascular Disease, Chennai, India. She was one of the participants at the inaugural international summit in Human Genetics and Genomics at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA in 2016.

Professor Ekure has authored and co-authored many scientific articles on infections, neonatology, paediatric cardiology and genetics. Her current research focus is on the genetic basis of congenital heart disease in Africa, a study of the US National Human Genome Research Institute in which she is the Nigerian principal investigator. She delivered a lecture on “Precision Medicine: Molecular Diagnosis and Digital Facial Analysis Technology Applications in Congenital Cardiovascular Disorders” at the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos Annual Gathering in 2018.

Professor Ekanem is aFellow of the West African College of Physicians (WACP) and served as secretary, Faculty of Paediatrics, WACP (2004-2008) and as National Secretary of Paediatric Association of Nigeria (2010-2013). She has been involved in training and manpower development of physicians on general paediatrics, paediatric cardiology and medical education through the Doctors as Educators Programme of the WACP across Nigeria, and other regions of Africa. She currently serves as a member of the Scholarship, Loans & Bursary Committee and the Appointments and Promotions Board of the University of Lagos.

DR MOHAMMED AUWAL IBRAHIM

Dr. Mohammed Auwal Ibrahim is a medical doctor and a distinguished member of the Faculty of Public Health, UK with over 20 years of experience in clinical and public health practice in Nigeria. He has spent most of these years managing and implementing programs in areas of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. His fields of experience cuts across specific technical areas such as immunization, malaria, nutrition, maternal, newborn care interventions and overall health systems strengthening. He currently works with the Clinton Health.

DR GARBA M. SAFIYANU

 Dr Garba Safiyanu is a public health physician with specialist training in obstetrics and gynaecology, reproductive health and family planning management. He currently works with UNICEF Nigeria to support the implementation and coordination of health system strengthening interventions that will improve the health of women and children. For nearly 3 decades, he has actively worked with state and non-state actors to strengthen the systems that deliver quality health services for women and children at various levels.

Dr Garba Safiyanu brings to the committee extensive technical and management experience from both donor and public-sector perspectives.

PROFESSOR HADIZA S. GALADANCI

Professor Galadanci became a consultant in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in 1998 and in 2014 she became a Fellow of the Royal College (FRCOG) and also a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Bayero University Kano. She also served as the Director Clinical Services of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital from 2010 to 2014. She was the pioneer Director of Center for Advanced Medical Research and Training, Bayero University Kano from 2015-2018. She is currently a Director of a World Bank supported Africa Center of Excellence for Population Health and Policy.

Professor Galadanci has published over 70 articles in her main areas of interest such as safe motherhood, cervical cancer and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). She has also attended many courses and conferences in Nigeria and abroad and served as an external examiner to several Nigerian Universities as well as West African College of Surgeons.

She is a member of the PMTCT National Task Team; Vice-President of the National Reproductive Health Working Group and Member of the West African Steering Committee on Reduction of Maternal Mortality. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees, West African College of Surgeons, Board of Trustees of Nigerian Medical Women’s Association and Chairman, Board of Trustees Engender health Nigeria. She is the first female consultant, first female gynaecologist and first female Professor of Medicine in Kano. Professor Galadanci is the first President of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Kano State Branch. She has served at various times as a consultant to development partners including UNICEF, UNFPA, MNCH2, PATH2, Pathfinder International, IHVN and COMPASS.

She has received various awards, including Distinguished Merit Award by the Wife of the Edo State Governor (July 2005), Merit Award by FEDWA (October 2008), REAGEM Award for Outstanding Capacity Building towards Health and Disease (2009). Paul Harrison’s Fellow Award (2009), KAMSA Merit Award (2010); Red Ribbon Award for Dedication and Outstanding Commitment to Combat HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (2010); Kano State Government Merit Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement/Contributions to the Government and People of Kano State, (1st October 2010). In 2017, she was awarded as the ALHERIN Kano during the 50th year anniversary of Kano State.

DR ODIDIKA UGOCHUKWU JOANNES UMEORA

 Odidika Ugochukwu Joannes UMEORA is a Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (high-risk pregnancy) at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. He is also a clinician, bioethicist, consultant obstetrician & gynaecolgist at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA). He graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria and did his residency training programme at the University of Benn Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City before joining the Ebonyi State University in 2003.  He had postgraduate trainings at the University of Pretoria and University of Kwazulu-Natal, Peter Maritzburg, both in the Republic of South Africa. He earned an MPH degree with distinction in Health Research Ethics as a recipient of the South African Research Training Ethics Initiative (SARETI) scholarship of the National Institute of Health (NIH), USA.

Dr Umeora heads the feto-maternal unit at AE-FUTHA and is passionate about women’s health. He has carried out a lot of work on antenatal, intrapartum care and maternal mortality and as well been engaged in many collaborative investigations bordering on maternal health. He is widely published in local and international journals.

DR SANJANA BHARDWAJ

Dr Sanjana Bhardwaj is currently the Chief of Health and HIV for UNICEF, Nigeria where her portfolio covers maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and HIV programs including the humanitarian and emergency response. Dr Bhardwaj has over 25 years of experience in the health and development sector in different capacities and roles. She has worked as a clinician, serving at primary care, intensive care and tertiary care facilities in rural and urban areas in several states of India. She served as a faculty member in the Community Medicine and Public Health department at the University of the West Indies, working across 17 English speaking countries in the Caribbean; led the child survival and development portfolio for UNICEF in South Africa and worked and contributed across different countries, like Papua New Guinea, Barbados, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA. Dr Bhardwaj’s interests focus on the realisation of child rights through an integrated systems approach to development, facilitating participation and dialogue across different stakeholder groups. She has led and pioneered the use of data for action and results in several national programs, supporting development of various tools to support decentralized planning and budgeting. Dr Bhardwaj has and continues to participate on several international and national forums and committees. She is widely published in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, training manuals and blogs across a wide range of topics in public health.

PROFESSOR AYOADE MJ. ODUOLA

 Professor Ayoade MJ Oduola is the pioneer Director of the University of Ibadan Research Foundation (www.uirf.ui.edu.ng) at the University of Ibadan. He served as Professor and Director at the Postgraduate Institute for Medical Research and Training (now IMRAT), College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  He worked as a US National Research Council (NRC) Fellow as well as an investigator at the Division of Experimental Therapeutics, Water Reed Army Institute for Research (WRAIR), Washington DC, USA.

 He retired as Coordinator for Stewardship and Capacity Building for Research at the Special Program for Research and Training on Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organisation (WHO/TDR). At WHO, he managed and led several research capacity building initiatives including: Creating Regional Training Centers for Bioinformatics in Brazil, South Africa and Thailand; establishment of the South-South Initiative for Tropical Diseases Research; organization of a High Level Ministerial Forum for research on infectious diseases of poverty in Africa; development of TropIKA.net, a web based platform for research information sharing (www.tropika.net). He led a team of over 300 contributors to produce a Global Report for Research Priorities on Infectious Diseases of Poverty (http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/global_report/en/).

He continues to devote efforts to facilitating strategic partnerships between institutions in diseases endemic countries and international partners on research and public health initiatives. He has been honoured with many awards.

PROFESSOR AYODELE SAMUEL JEGEDE

Professor Ayodele Samuel Jegede is an avid researcher of international repute.  He has served in many academic and administrative positions at the University of Ibadan since 1992. He has a B.Sc. degree in Sociology and Anthropology, M.Sc degree in Medical Sociology and Anthropology from University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife and a PhD degree in Medical Sociology and Anthropology. He also obtained a Master’s degree of Health Sciences in Bioethics at the Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada on Fogarty Scholarship in 2006..

Professor Jegede has been a recipient of many awards, Fellowships, scholarships and prizes including the World Academy of Sciences Prize in Social Science,2019; the  Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018; joint winner of the 2017 Edition of the Nigeria Prize for Science; Authors Merit Award by the MacMillan Nigeria Publishing Company, Nigeria; the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) Membership Scholarship; Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA) Scholarship; Salzburg Seminar fellowship; and British Council Chevening Leventis Scholarship. Professor Jegede is a member of reputable learned societies and networks including Association for Responsible Research and Innovation in Genome Editing (ARRIGE); TheNew HIV Vaccine and Microbicide Advocacy Society (NHVMAS); Bioethics Society of Nigeria (BESON),International Neuroethics Network; Nigeria Bioethics Initiatives (NIBIN); International AIDS Society (IAS); International Sociological Association (ISA); and Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Association (NASA).

DR OLAJIDE IDRIS

Dr Olajide Idris is the Commissioner for Health for Lagos State, Nigeria. He is responsible for healthcare planning, health policy formulation and implementation as well as supervision of health service delivery in the State.

Under his leadership, initially as Permanent Secretary and recently as Chief Executive, the Lagos State’s Health system has been significantly upgraded, through a comprehensive Health Sector Reform agenda covering systems reorganization, human resource development, infrastructural development, revitalization of the primary care system, healthcare financing, health promotion and disease prevention activities. He led the Lagos State response team in mobilising resources, coordinating the collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria and other International partners in the rapid containment of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in Lagos, Nigeria.

Dr Idris has over 30 years of experience in medical practice, healthcare systems management, consulting, pharmaceutical and research. He has worked as a medical doctor in his early and mid-career stages at hospitals and for private companies in Nigeria. Dr. Idris is a graduate of the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He obtained his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Yale University, Connecticut, USA, and was a post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Columbia University, New York, USA.

He is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Nigerian Medical Association as well as a member of the Board of University of Ibadan Research Foundation and the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria.