Dr Ifedayo Adetifa assumes duty as NCDC Director-General

The newly appointed Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Adetifa Ifedayo, has assumed duties.

Persecondnews recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had on 6th September 2021 approved the appointment of Adetifa as DG of NCDC.

Prior to his appointment, he was an Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

Adetifa replaces Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, who has been appointed the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to head its new pandemic intelligence hub in Berlin with effect from November 1, 2021.

Speaking during the official handing over ceremony presided over by the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, the outgoing DG, Ihekweazu, said: “During this time of transformation, there is no better person to lead our young agency.

“Dr Adetifa is a proven leader with strong epidemiology, academic and research background as well as the ability to bring people together.

“His vision for effective utilisation of scientific-evidence to prevent, detect and respond to public health emergencies is exactly what NCDC needs build on the gains achieved so far.”

In his response, the new NCDC boss congratulated Ihekweazu and the NCDC team for the incredible work they have done so far and announced his plans for the agency.

“I must congratulate Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu and the NCDC Team for the incredible work they have done so far, for Chikwe’s exemplary leadership, and for the smooth transition process.

“For several years now, I have closely followed the activities of the agency without any inkling that I would ever be the one to lead it.

“My focus in the next few weeks is to work with colleagues and partners to understand their work better so we can collectively build on the gains made so far, in line with the NCDC mandate,” he said.

Adetifa is a Clinical Epidemiologist with a strong public health and research background.

He received his undergraduate medical training at the University of Ilorin and completed his residency training in paediatrics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria.

He holds an M.Sc in Epidemiology from LSHTM and a Ph.D in Epidemiology from the University of Amsterdam.