Dr. Winifred Ukponu

Experience

With over 20 years of experience in Clinical Medicine and Public Health, Dr Winifred has built expertise in Global Health Security, Emergency management, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Surveillance & Epidemiology and Clinical Management for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases e.g., VHFs, COVID-19 & public health events, and recently, in Public Health Policy and Immunization. Across Africa, she has focused on strengthening pandemic preparedness, working with the Governments of Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania & Zambia to establish and/or strengthen their National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs). Dr. Ukponu has collaborated with organizations like the WHO (AFRO region), Africa CDC, and RKI, Germany, to build capacity and develop guidelines and protocols for emergency response, outbreak management, and IPC. She is adept at pioneering initiatives for improved public health systems and has been very instrumental in the design, development, and implementation of the Lassa Fever Clinical Management Fellowship (LFCMF) for which 2 cohorts have been trained so far. More recently, Dr. Ukponu is exploring the use of behavioural science and utilizing a bottom-top approach through a concept termed LISTEN (Local Innovations Scaled Through Enterprise Networks) to address community needs & challenges as they affect public health issues by working with the Ondo State Government to address the incessant challenge of Lassa fever in the State. She has also collaborated with the ECOWAS-WAHO to roll out a regional training of trainers for Lassa fever clinical management in the West African region, and is a facilitator and mentor for the Africa CDC Public Health Emergency Management PHEM Fellowship.