Buhari ‘invades’ US again for health sector appointments

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new chief executives for five health agencies, with two coming from the US and another from the UK.

From the US are Echezona Ezeanolue (pictured), a professor of paediatrics and public health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who will head the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), and Usman Yusuf,  a professor of paediatrics at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, who becomes the executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He is a recipient of many awards including being ranked the top doctor in Las Vegas, 2015 and one of the top paediatric doctors in the US 2012.

Aliyu Hussein, a consultant in microbiology and infectious diseases at Cambridge University, UK, will head the National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA).

Chikwe Ihekweazu, a doctor who will head  the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), is a public health consultant, while Babatunde Lawal Salako, a professor and current provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, will be chief executive of the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR).

TheCable on Monday reported the appointment of Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande, a professor in the electrical engineering and computer science department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as the executive chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Here are the bios on the new appointees.

USMAN YUSUF

Currently a professor of paediatrics at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He is a graduate of medicine at ABU Zaria where he also worked at the Teaching Hospital from 1984 to 1989. He moved to the UK in 1990 where he worked in the Paediatric field at various hospitals until 1995 when he moved to South Carolina, in the USA where he rose to become a fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in 1998. In 2000, he moved to Seattle, Washington to work in Cancer Research rising to become an  assistant  Professor. In 2002,  he  relocated  to Tennessee to take on the post of professor of paediatrics where he remains till today. Over his career, he has published many journals and made many presentations at global institutions. He has won many awards including the Physician of the year award for excellence in 2006 and 2007. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the West African College of Physicians and the American Academy of Physicians.

ECHEZONA EZEANOLUE

Currently a professor of paediatrics and public health at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA. He got his medical degree at the  University of Nigeria in 1995 where  he also did his internship.In 1999, he moved to Howard University, Washington DC where he did his paediatric internship and residency. In 2002, he proceeded to the New Jersey Medical School and got his fellowship in Paediatric Infectious Disease. In 2005, he moved to Nevada where he remains to date practicing paediatric medicine. He is a recipient of many awards including being ranked the top doctor in Las Vegas, 2015 and one of the top paediatric doctors in the US 2012. He has written many journal articles and has received grants worth millions of dollars over the years to fund his research.He is a  member  of the American  Board of  Paediatrics, a director, Global Health and Implementation Science and Director, Maternal-Child HIV Program.

BABATUNDE LAWAL SALAKO

Currently the provost, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan. He is also a professor and honourary consultant of Nephrology at the University College Ibadan. He had his first medical degree from the University of Ibadan in 1986 where he still works to date. He has attended courses at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburg and London and was elected a fellow in both institutes. Although most of his career has been in Ibadan, his work is globally respected including at highly acclaimed institutions like the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta where he has been a member of an international panel of experts. His research and various  publications  were funded from  local and international grants. He is a well know public commentator on health matters and a pillar of his community.

ALIYU SANI HUSSEIN

Currently a consultant in microbiology and infectious diseases at Cambridge University, UK. He got his medical degree from ABU Zaria in 1993 after which he proceeded to become a medical officer at the State House Medical Centre in Abuja. In 1998, he moved to Cambridge’s Addenbrooke Hospital as a senior house officer in Microbiology where he rose through the ranks becoming a consultant in Microbiology today. He has participated and supervised various research and publications in his career funded from numerous grants. He is a member of the Trust Healthcare Associated Infections Task Force and also chairs the Information and Governance Steering Group of the Caldicott Guardian Trust, an authority that focuses on policy and strategic planning in medicine in the UK. He is the chairman of the exam board for Infectious Diseases Speciality Certificate Examinations (SCE) of the Royal College of Physicians and also the clinical audit lead for the infectious diseases department.

CHIKWE ANDREAS IHEKWEAZU

Currently the managing partner at EpiAfric, a public health consultancy firm that focuses on Africa. He obtained his first medical degree at the University of Nigeria in 1996 after where he also did his housemanship. In 2001, he moved the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin where he worked as a medical epidemiologist investigating outbreaks of hospital associated infections. In 2003, he moved to the UK and rose to become the consultant medical epidemiologist at the Health Protection Agency, England by 2011. He then relocated to South Africa in 2011 as the co-director, Centre for Tuberculosis at the South African Institute of Communicable Diseases. In 2014, he established his consulting firm, EpiAricand in 2015, was appointed the consultant and coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Ebola Response team in Monrovia, Liberia. In addition to consultancy, he is also the curator of the Nigeria Health Watch, an NGO that uses advocacy to seek better health care access in Nigeria. He has many publications and received numerous awards including the honourary lecturer on Infectious Diseases at the University College London.