Friday Okonofua

Professor Okonofua obtained the fellowships of the West African College of Surgeons in 1984 and the Nigerian Postgraduate Medical College in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1985. He obtained PhD in public health from the Karolinka University in Sweden in 2005. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Takemi Fellow in International Health at Harvard University, and a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science. He joined the services of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (Nigeria) in 1986, and rose through the ranks to become full professor in 1992.

His research interests include reproductive health, especially maternal, child and adolescent reproductive health. His research focuses on identifying the causal pathways for reproductive health mishaps, and pinpointing innovative solutions through interventional and translational research.

He has been the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Obafemi Awolowo University and the University of Benin (Nigeria), Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in the two Universities, and Provost of the College of Medical Sciences at the University of Benin. He was the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo City, Nigeria. He has been the Adviser on health to President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, the Executive Director of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Program Officer at the Ford Foundation. He is the Editor in Chief of the African Journal of Reproductive Health, founder of the Women’s Health and Action Research Centre, the Centre Leader of the World Bank African Centre of Excellence in Reproductive Health Innovation at the University of Benin (Nigeria), and a member of the editorial board of the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has published 289 refereed articles, three books, and 19 book chapters in maternal health, reproductive health, and adolescent reproductive health.