Chikwe Ihekweazu, the first director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and currently head of the Health Emergencies Programme for the World Health Organization, believes that greater African leadership in global health organizations would benefit everyone.

“These roles require not only technical competence, but also empathy and compassion, which I believe can only develop with time and experience,” Ihekweazu told Garry Aslanyan, host of the Global Health Matters podcast. “Global health indices will benefit greatly from more diverse representation at all levels of leadership.”

A Nigerian infectious disease epidemiologist, Ihekweazu brings extensive experience in public health leadership. He and his wife, Vivianne Ihekweazu, were featured on the Dialogues show to discuss their new book, An Imperfect Storm: A Pandemic and the Coming of Age of a Nigerian Institution. The book chronicles his tenure as the founding director general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control from 2016 to 2021, a period in which he played a pivotal role in strengthening Nigeria’s public health infrastructure—particularly in the lead-up to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under his leadership, the Nigeria CDC became a central force in Africa’s pandemic response.

Vivianne Ihekweazu also works in health, serving as managing director of Nigeria Health Watch.

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Please note: This article corrects an earlier error. Chikwe Ihekweazu was the first director-general of the Nigeria CDC, but not its founder.

Image Credits: Global Health Matters, TDR.