Dr. Winifred Ukponu, MBBS, MPH, Dip. LMIH, DFP
Dr. Ukponu is an Associate Director (Global Health Security) at CGHPI (West and Central Africa). Dr. Ukponu has over 19 years of experience across Clinical Medicine and Public Health, having worked on projects around Global Health Security, Outbreak Management, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Case Management, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Surveillance & Epidemiology for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases e.g. VHFs, COVID-19, and more recently delved into Public Health Policy and Immunization, publishing papers in these fields.
She has worked with countries like Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya, Cameroon & Zambia providing technical assistance on pandemic preparedness & establishing/strengthening National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) as well as with organizations like the World Health Organization (AFRO region), Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC), and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany in capacity building and developing scientific documents, guidelines, and protocols useful for emergency response, outbreak management, and IPC in Nigeria and within Africa. She has managed, implemented, and evaluated PEPFAR and GHSA public health programs geared toward optimizing health outcomes. Her collaboration with the Institute of Viral Haemorraghic Fevers & Emergent Pathogens, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua, Nigeria, amongst other institutions, birthed the 1st Clinical Management Fellowship for Lassa Fever.
Winifred received her medical degree from the College of Medicine, University of Ilorin, and holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the College of Medicine, Lagos State University, both in Nigeria. She holds a Diploma in Leadership & Management in Health (LMIH) amongst others and is a Distinguished Fellow of the US-CDC Improving Public Health Management for Action (IMPACT) Program. She has participated in various professional and educational development programs across the globe.