PPSN

Prof. Ekanem Ikpi Braide

Professor Ekanem Ikpi Braide, the Chair of the Board of Trustees Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN) is also a co- founder and Fellow and National President, Nigerian Society for Parasitology (now Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria). A seasoned Scientist, Administrator and Academic, Prof Braide has received many awards, including, Cross River State 2000 Millennium Award and Jimmy/Roslynn Carter Award for outstanding dedication and achievement in the eradication of guinea worm in Nigeria. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. Professor Braide served as Vice Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as Pioneer Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Lafia, Nigeria (2011 to 2016), and presently the President, Nigerian Academy of Science.

An indigene of Cross River State, Nigeria, was born on March 6, 1946. She holds a Bachelors degree in Zoology (Ife, Nigeria 1971)as well as Masters and Doctorate degrees in Parasitology/Epidemiology (1973, 1978, Cornell, USA). She also holds a Certificate in Epidemiological Methods from Southampton University (British Council Course 1986).She taught in Community Secondary School, Ugep (1966 – 1968), College of Education, Port Harcourt (1973) and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1973 – 1976). She served at the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research, Kaduna (1978 - 1979) as a pioneer officer/researcher in charge of the Onchocerciasis Control Unit of the Institute. Thereafter, she joined the University of Calabar in 1979 as a lecturer and was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1991.

Prof. Braide’s research focus is on disease control particularly operational research, impact assessment of interventions, rapid assessment methods in mapping diseases and community initiatives in disease control.

She served as the Zonal Facilitator in the Nigerian Guinea worm Eradication Programme, South East Zone from 1988 to 1998 and on the WHO/FGN Guineaworm Eradication Certification Committee until Nigeria was certified guinea worm free in 2013. She coordinated Anglophone teams for African Programme on Onchocerciasis Control (APOC)multi-country impact assessment of onchocerciasis control activities in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria. She was a member of the WHO/TDR/APOC team that developed RAPLOA, a rapid assessment tool for determining prevalence of Loa loa for quick identification of communities in areas co-endemic for onchocerciasis and loaisis that are at high risk of severe adverse reactions to ivermectin (Mectizan) treatment.

Prof. Braide was a member of WHO/APOC Technical Consultative Committee (TCC) from 2001 to 2006 and chaired the Committee from 2003 to 2006. She was also a member of Mectizan Expert Committee from 2003 to 2006. She served as member (Alternate Chairman) of National Steering Committee, Nigerian Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme (2007-2018) and as Chairman, Technical Advisory Committee, Cross River State Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme (2015-2018). Shealso served asa member of the Board of Trustees of Sightsavers for eight years and chaired the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the four-year Sightsavers DFID funded NTD UNITED projectwhich ended in 2019. She is President ofthe Board of Trustees, Society for Family Health (SFH) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Leprosy Mission (TLM) Nigeria.She is; member The Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID- 19 Health Sector Response(MEACoC-HSR); memberAfrican Scientific Research and Innovation Committee (ASRIC) Expert Advisory Board on STI intervention for COVID-19(2020) and member,TETFund Committee on Research and Development (2020-ongoing).Fellow, Salzburg Seminar Session 319; co-founder and Chairman, Youth Care; co-founder and Coordinator, Coalition of Youth Serving NGOs. She is a National Patron of Boys Brigade, Nigeria and has received many awards from various churches for her support of evangelism and assistance to the needy.She is the Pro-Chancellor of Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Nigeria and also Chairman, Board of Trustees, Essien Ukpabio Presbyterian Theological College, Itu (EUPTCI), Nigeria. Professor Braide and her husband, late Professor Victor Bowerson-Chase Braide, have two children, Pamela and Opubo.

Back to Board of Trustees