Board of Trustees.

The Kano State Government and Pfizer Inc. have appointed a board of seven members to oversee the administration of the Kano Independent Research Centre Trust. Prominent expert in infectious and tropical illnesses, Prof. Abdulrazaq G. Habib, serves as its chair. Dr Amina Abdullahi as the vice chair. The other board members include , Prof. Emmanuel Oni-Idigbe, Dr. Amha Kebede, Prof. William Kwabena Ampofo, Alhaji Tajuddeen Dantata, and the late Prof. Olanipekun K. Alausa and one Executive secretary , David Odiwo.

Member Board

Executive Secretary

Late Prof Olanipekun K Alausa

He was the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Eko University of Medicine and Health Sciences. (EKOMEDHS- A Private- Owned Institution), Ijanikin, Lagos State as well as Visiting Professor, department of Community Medicine, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo Ogun State and State, (2014 to 2023). He was also Chairman Board of Trustee of the Society of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria, Member, Board of Trustees of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria and Member, Board of Trustees and Chairman Governing Council of Ijebu Development Initiative on Poverty Reduction.

He held a B.sc from Med.Microbial); MBBS, Celt. Immunol, MD from the University of Illorin, Dip,Bact from Manchester; M.P.H from Harvard, Certificate in Epidemiology & Public Health Administration from the World Health Organization (WHO) and CDC. Atlanta, USA) among other qualifications He had published over 100 Scientific and Medical publications in reputable national and international Journals.

Amina Abdullahi Umar, MBBS (University of Maiduguri), MPH (NFELTP), FWACP, FRSTMH

Trustee Amina is a consultant public health physician at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and Bayero University Kano (BUK), Nigeria. A trained field epidemiologist- graduate of the renowned and prestigious Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP). She works to provide clinical services at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital immunization and child welfare unit, teaches and mentors undergraduate and postgraduate students.

She coordinated the Malaria Frontline Project- a US-CDC funded pilot project that provided technical support to reduce Malaria morbidity and mortality in Kano State. Innovated the Ward Level Data Validation which is a new approach that ensured improved good quality data for informed decision making. She participates as Management Support Team (MST) during various Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs), part of the team that investigated the last case of Wild Polio Virus in Kano State, and participates in various diseases outbreak investigation and response. A member of Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), member of American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), member of Kano State Technical Working Group on Malaria in Pregnancy, fellow of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH), member of Kano State Taskforce on COVID-19 and vice chair board of trustees of the Kano State Independent Research Trust.

Abdulrazaq G. Habib, MBBS

Trustee Abdulrazaq is a professor of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Nigeria. He trained and worked in the fields of epidemiology, immunology, internal medicine, infectious diseases and tropical medicine in institutions in Nigeria, United Kingdom and Singapore. In addition to clinical work, mentoring and undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, he has been the dean and later provost at the College of Health Sciences, BUK, and has served as director at Institute of Human Virology (Nigeria). He is an active researcher with over 150 article publications focusing on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, snakebite, antimicrobial resistance, emerging infections, health economics and global health.

He participated in the initial clinical characterization of SARS-CoV in Singapore in 2003. He serves as member of the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, National Drug Safety Advisory Committee, National Immunization Technical Advisory Group and the National Health Research Committee in Nigeria. He is a member board of trustees of the Society of HIV Care Clinicians in Nigeria, Toxinology Society of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Infectious Diseases Society – which he founded and presided for a decade. He is president of the International Society of Toxinology (Africa-Middle East), chairman of National Noma Technical Advisory Group, co-Chair Kano State Taskforce on COVID-19, formerly acting Chair of Friends for Global Health (Nigeria) of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, University of Vanderbilt, USA, and the Chairman board of trustees of the Kano Independent Research Trust. Dr Habib is an international advisor to the Royal College of Physicians London (UK), member Board of Directors Global Snakebite Initiative (Australia), member Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on meningococcal meningitis vaccines (WHO Geneva), Snakebite Envenoming Workgroup (WHO Geneva), Workgroup on COVID-19 Vaccines Safety (WHO). He is a member of several professional societies, editorial boards and has received several awards and prizes.

DAVID ODIWO FCA

Executive Secretary Principal Partner, David commenced his accounting career as an audit trainee in Anjous, Uku, Eweka and Co Chartered Accountants Benin City in 1983, he worked with S.S. Afemikhe and Co Chartered Accountants, Lagos from 1988 to 1990. Qualified as a Chartered Accountant (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria) in 1991 and joined Guinness Nigeria Plc as an Internal Auditor.

He Worked with Commercial Trust bank Limited from 1992 to 1993 as an Internal Auditor and Operations Manager from 1994 to 1998 in the bank’s Onitsha Branch. He also worked as a Consultant for Deo–Tseena Consulting and was General Manager Finance and Investments, Securities Trading & Investments Limited before becoming the principal partner of David Odiwo and Co (Chartered Accountants). He has over twenty years post qualification experience spanning Auditing, Consultancy, Taxation, Banking and financial services. His experience spans Auditing of Major companies as well as consulting in diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy such as value for money audits for major companies in the oil and gas industry as well as firms in the capital market. David holds an HND in accountancy from Auchi Polytechnic, Auchi. Edo state and is currently a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an associate member of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN).

PROFESSOR EMMANUEL ONI IDIGBE, Ph.D.

Trustee. Professor Emmanuel Oni Idigbe, a Nigerian, is a Medical Microbiologist with over 40 years’ experience in Public Health Research and Administration. He obtained a B.Sc. (2^nd Class Upper Division in Microbiology) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1974 and a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow, Scotland in 1979. He joined the services of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos in 1980 as a Research Fellow II and after several years of active and dedicated service, he rose through the professional/academic ranks to become the Director-General /CEO of the Institute in 2000, a position he held for 2 tenures between 2000-2008. In 2010, he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Medical Microbiology at the Institute of Global Health, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Chicago, USA.

On completion of his tenure as Director-General, he served as the Coordinator of Research Planning and Management in the Institute from 2008 to 2017 when he finally disengaged from the services of the Institute. On final disengagement in 2017, he was appointed the CEO of Human Development and Public Health Initiative (HUDPHI), a health-based NGO in Nigeria, focused on health systems strengthening and community health services. In addition, Professor Idigbe is currently engaged as a Consultant to the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on strengthening National Public Health Institutes in the East African Member States as well as with the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM) on Surveillance for Antimicrobial Resistance in 14 Member States of the African Region. Over his 40 years of research and academic pursuits, Professor Idigbe acquired adequate hands-on experience in management and administration, directing and coordinating public health research as well as conducting workforce development programs; health systems strengthening and establishment of strategic partnerships at the national and international levels. He also has ample experience working with funding agencies, governmental and non-governmental organizations at these various levels.

Dr. amha kebede

Trustee Dr. Amha Kebede is a public health professional with a biomedical sciences specialization with over 25 years of experience in public health research and leadership. He has direct experience leading the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), coordinating and directing programs in capacity development, and establishing national, regional, and international strategic partnerships. He has published over seventy-six scientific articles in reputable international and local peer-reviewed journals.

He has extensive experience working with national and international organizations, as well as funding agencies. He has served and continues to serve on the boards of numerous international and national organizations. In addition, he has served as Project Lead for the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM). He is currently a Senior Advisor to both the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI) in Ethiopia.

Interested in knowing more about our institution?

Our journey started in 2013 when the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer Inc. established the center for the Kano State Government to conduct Bio-medical (and Healthcare) Research with focus on communicable and non-communicable diseases of public Health importance in Nigeria and the African continent

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