Dr. Okey C. Nwanyanwu

Dr. Okey C. Nwanyanwu is a world-class, University of Texas and U.S. CDC trained epidemiologist (EIS 1989). A retired senior executive with HHS/CDC with over 30 years of experience in disease control and health security around the world, he has previously held the following positions within the United States Government: Advisor to the Malawi Government on Health; Director, USAID Office of Health, Population and Nutrition, Mozambique; Director, CDC Guyana; Director, CDC South Africa & Regional Director, CDC Southern Africa Program and Director CDC Nigeria & HHS Health Attaché for West Africa. Dr. Nwanyanwu is the founder of Fast Forward Africa, LLC and Director of Vaccines and Therapeutics Development for Ogevity Therapeutics, LLC, two separate US companies dedicated to helping governments, private sector companies and individuals in developing countries, especially Africa, ensure better health security, save lives and find simpler solutions to the existential challenges of daily living. He has been influential in the creation of some of Africa’s strongest public health institutions. He has an extensive network of grassroots contacts, organizations and infrastructures in support of training and rapid deployments for health and security such as Africa Field Epidemiology Training Network, headquartered in Kampala, Uganda and with offices in more than 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa which has trained more than 2,000 epidemiologists on the continent to respond to emerging diseases of public health consequences such as Ebola and Covid-19. Dr. Nwanyanwu is instrumental in the creation of the Pan African Medical Journal that gives African scientists a platform for publication of their works; championed the creation of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) – the preeminent agency for disease control policy in Nigeria. NCDC was instrumental in the eradication of Ebola in the country and is now managing efforts for COVID-19 control. This organization is the counterpart to the United States CDC. Finally, Dr. Nwanyanwu was the leader in significantly increasing the number of people on HIV treatment in both South Africa and Nigeria and helped to put the first 1,000,000 South Africans on HIV treatment and later another 1,000,000 more patients on treatment in Nigeria.