Oct 15, 2022Tribute to John Nkengasong, Recipient of First Virchow Prize for Global HealthI first met Dr. John Nkengasong in 2016 at a meeting organised by the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) in Shanghai, China. This was just a few months after we had both returned to take up leadership responsibilities in Africa– he had been appointed to lead the…Global Health6 min readGlobal Health6 min read
Jan 19, 2020One Year After The Lassa Fever Conference: Are we rising to the challenge?About a year ago, nearly 700 people from 15 countries across the world gathered in Abuja, Nigeria for the first Lassa Fever International Conference in Nigeria. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and our partners hosted this two-day event on the 16thand 17thof January 2019, to mark fifty years…Public Health5 min readPublic Health5 min read
Dec 27, 2019CRITICAL ROLE OF HEALTH SECURITY IN NIGERIA’S HEALTH SYSTEM IN 2019CRITICAL ROLE OF HEALTH SECURITY IN NIGERIA’S HEALTH SYSTEM IN 2019 In 2016, when I took over the leadership of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as Director General, our vision at the time was to strengthen the capacity of the agency to prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks…Health5 min readHealth5 min read
Sep 30, 2018A home coming: My visit to Liberia’s new National Public Health InstituteIn May 2015, a few months after my experience as part of the Ebola outbreak response team in Liberia, I shared my reflections on what was a life-changing experience personally and professionally. In that piece, I emphasised my key learning from the response — the role of gaining the trust…Ebola6 min readEbola6 min read
Aug 18, 2018After two years, building the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control is work in progress“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” — Barack Obama These words from former US President, President Barack Obama have inspired me since I became the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on the 15th…Health5 min readHealth5 min read
Jun 18, 2018When the Director General of World Health Organization visited the Nigeria Centre for Disease ControlOn the 11th April 2018, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). This was his first visit to Nigeria since assuming the role of Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). It was the first time the NCDC would be hosting such a high-level…Health6 min readHealth6 min read
May 29, 2018HOW PREPARED IS NIGERIA FOR ANOTHER EBOLA OUTBREAK?Events in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have caught the attention of the global health community once again. An outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was confirmed by the DRC Government on the 8th of May 2018. …Ebola6 min readEbola6 min read
Jan 4, 20182017: A year like never before for Infectious Disease Outbreaks in NigeriaIn the year 2017, like never before, Nigeria was faced with several outbreaks — Cerebrospinal Meningitis, Lassa fever, Yellow fever, Cholera and most recently Monkeypox. There was definitely no quiet period for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) — the national public health agency with the responsibility of preventing…Health7 min readHealth7 min read
Dec 21, 2017Out of the Blue- AN OUTBREAK OF MONKEYPOXOn the 22nd of September 2017, we received a report from the Bayelsa State Ministry of Health of a suspected case of Monkeypox. This was a different alert compared to other alerts the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had responded to since its establishment in 2011. …Health5 min readHealth5 min read
Nov 12, 2017MARKING ONE YEAR AT NCDCAbout a year ago, precisely on the 15th of August 2016, I started as the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), following an appointment by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari. While the appointment came as a surprise, I accepted it with a huge sense of…Health5 min readHealth5 min read
