Professor Uche Veronica Amazigo, FAS

Professor Uche Amazigo, retired Director of the World Health Organization African Programme for Onchocerciasis {River blindness}, is a Medical Parasitologist and Public Health Specialist. She is one of the few Africans to have led a specialized UN Agency, overseeing a highly successful multilateral partnership in global health.

Professor Amazigo holds a PhD from the University of Vienna (Austria) and was a Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health (USA). She has devoted most of her academic, public and international career to research, sustainable community-driven health interventions, strengthening health systems and the elimination of neglected tropical diseases {NTD).

Professor Amazigo is honored for her leadership and professional accomplishment, in particular, her pioneer discovery of the disability, social stigma and isolation of adolescent girls caused by River blindness skin disease. Her groundbreaking research contributed to the creation of the World Health Organization African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (WHO/APOC) in 1995 – a programme she directed for six years (2005 – 2011}. She has over 70 articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals

She was instrumental in the development of community directed treatment {CDT} strategy – now one of the most effective strategies of community leadership and participation in diversified public health programmes. Professor Uche Amazigo has received numerous awards and honors. In 2012, she won the prestigious Prince Mahidol Laureate award in Public Health. In 2013, she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS) and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. She is a Trustee of Sightsavers – United Kingdom and serves as advisor to several global Boards. She currently heads a Non-Governmental Organization – Pan-African Community Initiative on Education and Health {PACIEH}.