Emem Iwara’s CV

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NAME: DR. EMEM IWARA

PERSONAL DATA:

Physical Street Address: Plot 657 Cadastral Zone B12, Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja Nigeria

Telephone Home: +234**********

Telephone Mobile: +234**********

Email 1: ad1yg2@r.postjobfree.com

Email 2: ad1yg2@r.postjobfree.com

Date of Birth: 18/June/1977

Gender: Female

Country of Origin: Nigeria

Present Nationality: Nigerian

Languages and Fluency Level: English and Ibibio (Nigerian) / Level 5 – (Native Proficiency) Igbo; Yoruba; Hausa (Nigerian) / Level 1 – (Elementary) French / Level 1 – (Elementary)

PREAMBLE:

I am Nigerian-trained field epidemiologist and public health physician who completed a fellowship in community health. I have more than 16 years of experience working in the Nigerian public and private health sectors, including experience with a PEPFAR-funded project and as a US-CDC African Field Epidemiology Network HIV Data Quality Assessor. I have supported disease surveillance activities for the US-CDC National Stop Transmission of Polio program in Nigeria, including serving up to 8 times on supplemental immunization and polio outbreak response management supervisory team (collecting data and analyzing data and closing gaps as they arise and giving feedback), conducting a routine immunization assessment and completing a related training, and serving as a supervisor of supplemental immunization activities. In addition to polio, I have worked with LGBTQ, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), immunization, malaria, and non- communicable disease surveillance programs, conducting baseline and program assessments, facility-based and household studies. I also facilitated the set up connect center for emergency response in Nigeria to address the COVID-19 pandemic (with the center responding to over 100,000 calls from 28th March to 25th September 2020), COVID-19 household sero-survey and cohort event monitoring for adverse events following COVID-19 vaccines. I have expertise in program and project management, strategic planning, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E), surveillance systems and evaluation, research, and reporting on program project progress against objectives and M&E frameworks. I am highly skilled in emergency response, survey management, capacity building, stakeholder management, service orientation and presentations. I exercise cognitive flexibility, creativity, active listening, emotional intelligence, good judgement and decision-making, leadership, and negotiation skills. EDUCATION/CERTIFICATIONS:

• 2019, MPH in Field Epidemiology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria

• 2019; Certified in Project Management for Development Professionals, Levels 1 and 2; Association for Project Management; Buckinghamshire, England Emem Iwara’s CV

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• 2018, Certified WHO Survey Scholar

• 2018, Certificate in Data Improvement Planning, WHO Immunization Monitoring Academy, Geneva, Switzerland

• 2017, Certificate in Leadership and Management in Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

• 2016, Fellowship in Community Health, West African College of Physicians, Lagos, Nigeria

• 2004, MBBCh: Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, University of Calabar, Nigeria SELECT EXPERIENCES:

January 2023 till Date; Senior Survey Advisor, Public Health Information, Surveillance Solutions and Systems (PHIS

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) an Affiliate of APIN Public Health Initiative, Abuja, Nigeria

• Develop or adapt survey protocols and data collection tools and facilitate the process of obtaining IRB-approvals.

• Prepare training materials and work with implementing agencies to train field staff on survey protocol, questionnaire content and interviewing techniques.

• In-person and remote monitoring of data collection and data quality and working with implementing agencies to ensure proper fieldwork procedures are followed.

• Ensure testing procedures are in order and offer guidance on the implications of including biomarkers in the survey and ordering equipment and supplies.

• Systematically review computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) data entry systems

• Prepare data tabulation plans and oversee report writing process including drafting and reviewing survey final report text and graphics.

• Communicate throughout all stages of the survey process with other staff, implementing agencies, Government of Nigeria, and other key stakeholders in a clear and timely manner.

• Negotiate and manage survey budgets with host country implementing organizations.

• Develop work plans, MOUs, and subcontracts.

October 2019 – January 2023; Senior Surveillance Lead/ Project Director, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)-Nigeria Projects, Abuja, Nigeria

• Provides support and leadership to the Epidemiology, Surveillance and Evaluation Department, overseeing seven (7) surveillance/M&E Specialists/Officers under the CDC- funded Secure-Nigeria, COVID-19 Sero-survey, Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS), and SHIELD projects.

• Also leading the support to NCDC, NPHCDA and NAFDAC to enhance the ability of the country to convert Disease and AEFI surveillance data to usable information to improve decision making through the Secure- Nigeria Project

• Currently directing the planning and implementation of the Cohort Event Monitoring (CEM) for Safety Signal Detection, after Vaccination With COVID-19 Vaccines and Post Market Monitoring in Nigeria which is aimed to monitor persons who have received the COVID-19 vaccine for adverse events following immunization, working with National Agency for Food and Drug Control (NAFDAC)

• Provided guidance and technical input to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) and developed training manuals for the HIV Recent Infection Surveillance (with over 100 trainers and participants trained), Case-based surveillance (about 30 trainers trained), Social visibility Emem Iwara’s CV

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study for HIV key population Projects (about 20 participants trained), staff trainings, stakeholder meetings and other activities for population-based studies.

• Provided senior-level input on key population surveillance components for proposal and report writing, development of the training manuals and slides, as well as data collection SOPs. Provided leadership on training and deployment for the Surveillance Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) in 3 states in Nigeria.

• Led deployment of the mobile strengthening epidemic response systems (mSERS) tool in all 774 LGAs across the 36 +1 states in Nigeria.

• Collaborated with the head of the Health Informatics Department to optimize data from the NMRS and Nigeria Data Repository (NDR) for surveillance coverage.

• Collaborated with national partners—including the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control—to identify knowledge and capacity gaps and develop solutions to strengthen country surveillance capacity; and led trainings on using SORMAS (over 200 persons trained), mSERS (over 1000 persons trained), Joint External Evaluations (JEE), event-based surveillance.

• Oversaw the Data to Care program’s HIV care and surveillance strategies at the national and local levels for HIV Case-based surveillance. Key tasks for this program include developing a training curriculum for recency testing and data management; conducting performance appraisals to identify and mentor focal persons and teams in charge of HIV recency testing with implementing, state and facility partners in 3 States; providing capacity building and training support to states on HIV recency testing and data management; supporting quarterly stakeholder meetings; coordinating data documentation processes for testing and reports into electronic medical records; and facilitating changes to the Nigeria Medical Records System

(NMRS) to capture testing data.

• Collaborated with Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and US-CDC for planning and implementation of the COVID-19 Sero-prevalence survey in Nigeria; including the following specific activities; protocol development, training of over 60 trainers and 500 field staff, implementation in 5 states, monitoring, data management and analysis, report writing. April 2018 – September 2019; Technical Advisor for the Nigeria HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)-Nigeria Projects, Abuja, Nigeria

• Provided survey, data and technical support for the planning and coordination of CDC-funded NAIIS project in 11 states in South-South and Southeast Nigeria. General activities included interviewing field workers; training trainers (about 90) and field teams (about 600); completing fieldwork and a pilot program; conducting a post-pilot and pre-data collection planning meeting; and developing training slides, job aids, manuals, and SOPs.

• Supervised data collection teams: working with the data management team to ensure successful data collection procedures and data quality, as well as providing logistical support to zonal and sub-zonal coordinators to ensure NAIIS ran in a smoothly, timely manner with good quality data collection (from over 160,000 participants, aged 0-64 years from the selected household) which now serves as a reference for HIV programming in Nigeria.

• Additional activities included leading data quality assessments for the NAIIS linkage to care validation, providing oversight for upgraded NAIIS linkage to care activities by ensuring all participants were linked to care and captured appropriately (over 90% of the survey participants who tested HIV positive were successfully linked to HIV treatment). Emem Iwara’s CV

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• And overseeing state close-out meetings and the handover of unlinked participants to implementing partners, developing data collection tools and the SOP for data collection with the community ART application for the Rivers Surge project, providing technical support at Rivers Surge meetings, and developing frequently asked questions for the NDR.

• Supported the review findings of the KP-mapping and population size estimation conducted across 7 seven President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) scale-up states in Nigeria.

October 2017 – April 2018; Senior Technical Officer of Prevention, Care and Treatment; Family Health International (FHI) 360; Abuja, Nigeria

• Provided technical leadership and support for service integration and program implementation, while building the capacity of staff with the USAID-funded Strengthening Integrated Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services (SIDHAS) project to apply knowledge management principles to HIV prevention, care, and treatment. Key activities included collaborating with departments; contributing to project lessons learned and applying them to improve existing and new programs; helping strengthen the project’s progress reporting system; helping develop project strategies, documents, work plans and budgets; and working with project and technical staff in zonal and state offices to adapt and disseminate guidelines, procedures, and tools to improve the quality-of-service delivery.

• Additional tasks included representing FHI 360 Nigeria to donors and government officials for service integration issues for the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria’s Adolescent Coordinated Transition project. Also developed a pediatric screening tool following USAID and NAIIS protocol and provided M&E, strategic planning, and surveillance and research support.

January 2017 – September 2017; Akwa Ibom AIDS Indicator Survey Manager, Family Health International (FHI) 360, Abuja, Nigeria

• Managed daily Akwa Ibom AIDS Indicator survey activities and coordinated logistics to ensure synergy of field activities/schedule for 65 field teams.

• Trained about 60 trainers and 500 field workers.

• Ensured deliverables (like community mobilization, household mapping and listing, questionnaire administration, HIV and CD4 testing) met quality and cost expectations. This resulted in surveying over 16,000 participants from more than 4000 households of which 2.8% were HIV positive.

• Collaborated with central and remote monitoring units to ensure progress and contractual requirements.

• Collaborated with central coordinators to obtain real-time information on field activities.

• Oversaw staff payments of over 500 field staff, plus personnel and equipment logistics. The findings from this survey were used to redefine HIV programming in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and birthed the Nigeria AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey Emem Iwara’s CV

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October 2009 – December 2016; Resident Doctor in the Department of Community Medicine, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria

• As the senior registrar, oversaw daily logistics for the department’s units and supervised staff, including 20 junior residents and 30 community health officers and community health extension workers.

• Taught and mentored over 100 medical students and 20 junior resident doctors.

• Managed about 100 patients in the endemic disease, well persons’, immunization, and rural health clinics weekly.

• Enhanced evidence-based practices by championing continuous quality improvement initiatives in clinical practice and service delivery.

• Coordinated and participated in research activities; developing protocols and facilitating continuing medical education; and routinely collecting and monitoring data to ensure continuity of care and the quality of clinical care for immunization clients and TB patients.

• Rotations through the different public health sub-specialties within the hospital and other government public health ministries and parastatals July 2012 – May 2016 Consultant/ State facilitator, USAID funded Malaria Action Program for States (USAID/MAPS Project), Cross Rivers State. Nigeria

• Supported the implementation of Malaria technical activities as well as the control of Malaria at the State, LGA, health facilities and grass-root/ community levels.

• Provided technical support for capacity building on malaria technical areas including training of personnel at the State Ministry of Health and other health facilities within the State.

• Provided technical expertise at the State level to the State Malaria Control Program as it relates to issues on capacity building for the management of malaria control.

• Provided support for malaria case management (diagnosis and treatment) within the State.

• Provided technical support at the State levels to improve intermittent preventive therapy for pregnant women.

August 2008 – September 2009 Resident Doctor, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital

(Department of Community Medicine), Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

• Responsibilities centered on subspecialties of Community/public Health such as: Patient- centered care, training of junior resident doctors and community health extension workers and nurses and Rotations through the different public health sub-specialties within the hospital and other local, state and federal government public health ministries and parastatals

June 2008 – August 2008: Medical leave

August 2007 – June 2008 Medical Officer, General Hospital Calabar, Mary Slessor Avenue, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

• Ensured the highest standards of patient care for all patients attending/admitted to General Hospital Calabar.

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• Established and maintained teamwork and co-operation with the multidisciplinary team i.e., Nursing, medical records, laboratories, pharmacy, radiology etc. ensured maximum benefit from coordinated patient care.

• Supported the Medical Director to maintain and develop the highest evidence based clinical and professional standards.

• Kept abreast of new developments, skills, technology, and current literature to initiate and respond to changes in the work environment, e.g., data analysis, clinical audit, research, etc. and to meet current CME requirements.

• Kept policies and procedures under review, with regular audit, and revise as required in the light of changing service needs; worked in co-operation with the Consultants and the Nursing team in all matters relating to patient care and favorable outcome: and

• Consulted and managed patients at the accident and emergency unit and assisted in surgical procedures

March 2007- August 2007: Job hunt

March 2006 – March 2007 Medical Officer, 13 Motorized Brigade Nigerian Army Medical Centre, Calabar, Cross River State, (National Youth Service Corps)

• Provided high quality clinical care to patients under the supervision and direction of brigade medical superintendent; Conducted day to day review of patients.

• Ensured comprehensive, accurate and concise medical records are maintained for patients.

• Contributed to quality patient care by participation in case planning which includes appropriate pre-admission planning, in-hospital care, and discharge planning.

• ensured that discharge summaries and other correspondence are completed with minimum delay and that all such correspondence is complete prior to leaving the unit

• Undertook call duties and provided health education to the military personnel and their spouses on current health issues, hygiene practices etc.

• facilitated prompt referral of patients to next level of care. February 2005 – February 2006 Medical Intern, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria,

• Under the supervision of the Medical Director, consultants, and registrars, I participated in and delivered quality health care services.

• Participated as a member of a multi-disciplinary team in the provision of medical care to patients; diagnose and treat patients under appropriate supervision; ensured that duties and functions are undertaken in a manner that prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of patients.

• Assessed patients on admission and/or discharge as required and write detailed reports in the case notes under supervision and as required; ordered and interpreted diagnostic tests; initiated and monitored treatment; communicated effectively with patients and clients.

• Attended clinics and participated in relevant meetings, case conferences and ward rounds. Emem Iwara’s CV

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• Documented findings on each patient’s chart; followed through with actions arising from ward rounds.

• Consulted in the out-patient clinic, attended to emergency medical, pediatric, gynecological, and obstetric patients.

• Assisted in minor and major surgeries. Presented cases at clinical meetings. Helped in collection of data for research, arranged investigations, surgical treatment, medical treatment, and discharge as directed by the Registrar and/or Consultant to which assigned. OTHER POSITIONS, TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: February 2014 – January 2017 Resident/ trainee, Nigeria Africa Field Epidemiology Network

(AFENET)/ Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training

• Polio Outbreak Response (OBR) Management supervisor in Abuja FCT

• Routine Immunization Assessment, Kano, Sokoto and Adamawa States

• HIV Data Quality Assessor, Benue State and Abuja FCT Nigeria

• Supervisor: Supplemental Immunization Activities in Kano and Akwa Ibom States, Nigeria

• NSTOP Internal Assessment and Interview of Key Stakeholders at the National Level, Abuja

• Lassa fever Outbreak Investigation in Ebonyi State Nigeria

• Mump Outbreak investigation in Obudu LGA, Cross River State

• Team Lead, Community Anti –Retroviral Therapy (cART) February 2010 – March 2010, Consultant/ facilitator Society for Family Health, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria

• Global fund round 8 project training of Health care providers in Akwa Ibom State on Malaria

May 2006 – May 2006, Volunteer, Pro-Health International, Burundi International Medical Missions, provided basic medical consultations and treatment to indigent persons

SELECT PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Akwa Ibom AIDS Indicator Survey: Key findings and Lessons learnt Oluwasanmi Adedokun, Titilope Badru, Hadiza Khamofu, Olubunmi Negedu-Momoh, Emem Iwara, Chinedu Agbakwuru, Akinyemi Atobatele, Mike Merrigan, Dominic Ukpong, Charles Nzelu, Gregory Ashefor, Satish Raj Pandey, Kwasi Torpey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32555584/

2. Epidemiological comparison of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, February 2020-April 2021

Oluwatosin Wuraola Akande, Kelly Osezele Elimian, Ehimario U. Igumbor, Lauryn Dunkwu, Chijioke Kaduru, Olubunmi Omowunmi Olopha, Dabri Olohije Ohanu, Lilian Nwozor, Emmanuel Agogo, Olusola Aruna, Muhammad Shakir Balogun, Olaolu Aderinola, Anthony Ahumibe, Chinedu Arinze, Sikiru Olanrewaju Badaru, William Emem Iwara’s CV

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Nwachukwu, Augustine Olajide Dada, Cyril Erameh, Khadeejah L Hamza, Tarik Benjamin Mohammed, Nnaemeka Ndodo, Celestina Obiekea, Chinenye Ofoegbunam, Oladipo Ogunbode, Cornelius Ohonsi, Ekaete Alice Tobin, Rimamdeyati Yashe, Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, Michael C. Asuzu, Rosemary A. Audu, Muhammad Bashir Bello, Shaibu Oricha Bello, Yusuf Yahaya Deeni,Yahya Disu,Gbenga Joseph,Chidiebere Ezeokafor, Zaiyad Garba Habib, C C Ibeh, Ifeanyi Franklin Ike, Emem Iwara, Rejoice Kudirat Luka- Lawal, Geoffrey Namara, Tochi J. Okwor, Lois Olajide, Oluwafunke Ilesanmi, S.E. Omonigho, Ferdinand Oyiri, Koubagnine Takpa, Nkem Usha Ugbogulu, Priscilla Ibekwe, John Oladejo, Elsie Ilori, Chinwe Lucia Ochu, Chikwe Ihekweazu https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-202*-******

3. Incidence Rate of COVID-19 Mortality and its Associated Factors During the First and Second Waves in Nigeria: A Retrospective Cohort Study Elimian Kelly, Elimian Kelly, Musah Anwar, King Carina, Igumbor Ehimario, Myles Puja, Aderinola Olaolu, Erameh Cyril, Nwanchukwu William, Akande Oluwatosin, Nicaise Ndembi, Ogunbode Oladipo, Egwuenu Abiodun, Crawford Emily, Gaudenzi Giulia, Abdus-Salam Ismail, Olopha Olubunmi, Disu, Yahya, Bowale, Abimbola Oshoma, Cyprian, Ohonsi Cornelius, Arinze Chinedu, Badaru Sikiru, Ebhodaghe Blessing, Habib Zaiyad, Olugbile Michael, Dan-Nwafor Chioma, Abubakar Jafiya, Pembi, Emmanuel, Dunkwu Lauryn, Ike Ifeanyi, Tobin Ekaete, Mutiu Bamidele, Luka-Lawal Rejoice, Nwafor Obinna, Okowa Mildred, Ezeokafor Chidiebere, Iwara Emem, Yennan Sebastian Eziechina Sunday, Olatunji David, Falodun Lanre, Joseph Emmanuel, Abali Ifeanyi, Tarik Mohammed, Yiga Benjamin, Kamaldeen Khadeejah, Agogo Emmanuel, Audu Rosemary, Olayinka Adebola, Okunromade Oyeladun, Mba Nwando, Oladejo John, Ilori Elsie, Aruna Olusola, Namara Geoffrey, Obaro Stephen, Hamza Khadeejah, Asuzu Michael, Bello Shaibu Oricha, Obi Andrew, Okonofua Friday, Deeni Yusuf, Abubakar Ibrahim, Alfven Tobias, Ochu Chinwe and Ihekweazu Chikwe

https://europepmc.org/article/PPR/PPR382421

4. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in four states of Nigeria in October 2020: A population- based household survey

Rosemary A. Audu, Kristen A. Stafford, Laura Steinhardt, Zaidat A. Musa, Nnaemeka Iriemenam, Elsie Ilori, Natalia Blanco, Andrew Mitchell, Yohhei Hamada, Mirna Moloney, Emem Iwara, Alash’le Abimiku, Fehintola A. Ige, Nwachukwu E. William, Ehimario Igumbor, Chinwe Ochu, Adesuyi A. Omoare, Olumide Okunoye, Stacie M. Greby, Molebogeng X. Rangaka, Andrew Copas, Ibrahim Dalhatu, Ibrahim Abubakar, Stephen McCracken, Matthias Alagi, Nwando Mba, Ahumibe Anthony, McPaul Okoye, Catherine Okoi, Oliver C. Ezechi, Babatunde L. Salako, Chikwe Ihekweazu https://journals.plos.org/globalpublichealth/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgph.0000363 Emem Iwara’s CV

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SELECTED RESEARCH OR PUBLIC HEALTH EVALUATION AND

IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT:

1. Effect of educational intervention on knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast cancer screening among women in Cross River State, Nigeria 2. Determinants of treatment failure among HIV patients on Highly Active Retroviral Treatment in Cross River State Nigeria

3. Cervical cancer screening: Knowledge and uptake among HIV positive women in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria (funded by TEPHINET)

SELECTED PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS (ABSTRACTS):

1. Effect of Health Educational Intervention on the Knowledge and Uptake of Mammography among Females in Cross River State, Nigeria: to be presented African Society for Laboratory Medicine conference in Cape Town South Africa in December 2016 2. Comparative Analysis of HIV Prevalence and Antiretroviral Therapy Coverage in West Africa: World Development Indicators 2011 to 2015: presented at the 1st Nigeria Filed Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program Conference, in Abuja March 2016 3. Reactogenicity following first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria 2021: Conference of public Health in Africa (CPHIA), Virtual December 2021

ASSOCIATIONS:

2017 – Present, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Member 2004 – Present, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Member 2004 – Present, Nigeria Medical Association, Member

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