Onyebuchi Chukwu (born 22 April 1962) is a Nigerian politician who served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2010 until 2014.

Early life and education

Chukwu was born in Yaba,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

, Nigeria. After attending the

Federal Government College, Sokoto Federal Government College, Sokoto is a unity school that was founded by P.H Davis in 1966. History The school was the first of the first three unity schools, which were originally called Inter Regional Secondary Schools but later called Federal ...

, Chukwu trained as a medical doctor at the College of Medicine of the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos, popularly known as UNILAG, is a public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria and was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the first generation universities in Nigeria and is ranked among the top universities in th ...

, graduating in 1986. Subsequently, he obtained post-graduate qualification in orthopaedic surgery from the West African Postgraduate Medical College.

Academic career

He is a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He is an International Affiliate and a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of the Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie (SICOT). He was the Chief Medical Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ebonyi State University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (2003–2008). In 2007, he was appointed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria, and visiting Professor of Surgery at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus in 2010. C. O. Onyebuchi Chukwu was the former Nigerian Minister of Health who led the hugely successful fight against the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria. He is a fellow of both the West African and the International College of Surgeons and a member of the Board of Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health. Currently, he is the Chairman of the Country Coordinating Mechanism (Nigeria) of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and the West and Central African Constituency representative on the Board of the GFATM; as well as the Chairman of the Bureau of Ministers of Health of the African Union (CAMH6).

Political career

Onyebuchi Chukwu was first appointed Minister of Health of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in April 2010 and re-appointed in June 2011. As Minister of Health of Nigeria, he championed the Transformation Agenda of the President in the health sector with considerable success. He ensured the approval of the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) by the Federal Executive Council and the signing of the International Health Partnership (IHP+) compact securing partners’ commitment to the implementation of the plan. He later resigned in October 2014, to run as a candidate for the Governorship of Ebonyi State, Nigeria During his term, Guinea worm disease was eradicated in Nigeria, for which the WHO in December 2013 certificated Nigeria as a Guinea Worm Free country. It was also during his term that Nigeria was declared Ebola-free by WHO Regional Office for Africa after a successful fight against the virus disease outbreak in the country.

Later career

Since 2020, Chukwu has been a member of the

Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance The Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance consists of world leaders and experts from across sectors working together to accelerate political action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Group performs an independent global advisory and ...

, co-chaired by

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

and

Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...

.Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chukwu, Onyebuchi 1962 births Living people University of Lagos alumni Health ministers of Nigeria People from Lagos