Board Members
Dr. Sula Mazimba
Vice President
Dr. Wilfred W. Asombang
Advisor
Akwi W. Asombang MD MPH,
Co-Founder and Board President
Dr Akwi W Asombang is an interventional gastroenterologist and Director of Global Health Programs in Gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She completed her advanced endoscopy fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medicine Center (BIDMC), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri and a Fogarty International Clinical Research fellowship. Her Fogarty International-NIH sponsored research focused on gastric cancer in Zambia.
Prior to her fellowships she completed a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri and her MPH at Saint Louis University School of Public Health. She is a graduate of Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. Her other professional interests are endoscopy, physician education/training and global health. Her travels around the world, upbringing, and interaction with various populations led her to form this organization to tackle the problems faced by most of the African communities. She strongly believes that as an individual we have a duty to one another, we each have the ability to change one life for the better and with this organization hopes to touch an infinite number of lives.
Sula Mazimba, MD MPH,
Co-Founder and Board Vice President
Dr Sula Mazimba is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Program at The University of Virginia, Virginia, USA. He is a cardiologist with a keen interest in pulmonary vascular disease, mechanical circulatory support and heart transplantation. He completed his cardiology fellowship at the Kettering Medical Center/Dayton Veteran Affairs Center; and an advanced heart failure, heart transplant and pulmonary vascular disease fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His research is focused on understanding the determinants of disease progression in cardiac diseases.
Prior to his fellowship he completed an internal medicine residency at the Kettering Medical Center/Wright State University, and his MPH at the Wright State Boonshoft School of Public Health. He is a graduate of the University of Zambia, School of Medicine, Lusaka, Zambia. He is also passionate about global health and access to quality cardiovascular care for all people. He has been involved in multiple international medical missions providing medical care to underprivileged populations in Africa. He was involved in medical education as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine. He strongly believes that we are all called to make a positive change in the world around us.
Chidi Onyia,
Board Member
Mrs Chidi Onyia is an Information Technology professional. She is a graduate of Saint Louis University, Missouri, and Washington University in St Louis, Missouri. She resides in Columbus, Ohio with her family.
Dr Seth Bloom, MD PhD,
Board Member
Dr. Seth M. Bloom, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist whose research laboratory
explores how the cervicovaginal microbiome and metabolome influence human health and disease, including bacterial vaginosis, HIV, human papillomavirus, and cervical cancer. He is a principal investigator and Physician in the Infectious Diseases Division at Mass General Brigham, Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and Associate Member at the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard. He earned his BA and his MD/PhD degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, completed medical residency training at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, completed Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Mass General Brigham, then conducted postdoctoral research on the human vaginal microbiome at MGH and the Ragon Institute.
Dr Opeoluwa Y. Makinde MBChB
Board Member
Opeoluwa Y. Makinde is a medical doctor and emerging health systems leader with a particular interest in Public Health, Healthcare Administration, and Health Policy. She graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, as one of the top of her class, earning distinctions in multiple courses, and building a solid foundation in clinical medicine and leadership.
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She is currently a Medical Officer at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, a multinational institutional setting where she contributes to clinical care delivery and routine clinic-related administration, supporting health initiatives that align individual care with organisational health priorities.
​​She is a POHER Medical Research and Mentorship Symposium Co-Chair, a 2021 POHER Scholar Alum and a UNITE 2030 Cohort 6 Youth Delegate Program Changemaker, honours that reflect her leadership and commitment to growth. She has also co-authored academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals.
She believes in the values of integrity and teamwork, and emphasises that if each person contributes daily to the benefit of society, one action at a time, we will achieve a better world.
Nadege Uwase
Founder, University of Missouri School of Medicine – MU African Interdisciplinary Studies Hub
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Nadège Uwase is a Certified French Teacher for the Columbia Public School District. She teaches five levels of French and helps students matriculate through the program with a variety of engaging activities to help strengthen their language skills and teach them about francophone culture. She believes that language is ‘culture in motion.’ The ability to speak another language enables students to cross linguistic and cultural boundaries because they become members of another communicating group.
Before her current position, she worked at the University of Missouri and founded MU African Interdisciplinary Studies Hub. MU Africa Hub fosters and strengthens research, teaching, innovation, economic development, and outreach programs in and about Africa at the University of Missouri. MU Africa Hub plays an essential role in accomplishing the University of Missouri’s mission and commitment to robust public service by cultivating a space where scholars and students can deconstruct stereotypes about the continent, explore the vast terrain, examine diverse cultures and traditions, and illuminate pressing issues, thus shaping new frontiers of knowledge that encourage and promote understanding and study of Africa.
Outside of her professional responsibilities, she enjoys community service and contributing to her community. She has been a Rotarian for over 10 years and currently serves as the chair of the International Service Committee for the Rotary Club of Columbia.
Dr Wilfred W. Asombang
PhD (Econs), MSc (Agecon), MBA (Mgmt) & B. Com (Hons) Advanced Accounting & Auditing
POHER Board Member, Consultant & Advisor, since 2006.
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Currently resident in Lusaka, Zambia, as a self-employed consultant, Wilfred W. Asombang, has since 2006 been serving POHER on results-based consultancy and leadership programs in all areas of the NGO’s motto of “ Helping People to Help Themselves and Help Others”. In reverse chronological order, Dr Asombang’s academic qualifications include PhD (Econs) University of Wales, U.K; MSc (Agecon) and MBA University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA plus internship at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)/World Bank, Washington D.C, and B. Com (Hons) Advanced Accountancy and Auditing University of Poona, India.
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His professional employment includes services as Chief Administrative officer (CAO) of the African Mission in Sudan (AMIS); CAO of the African Union Peace Building Mission in Burundi; Acting Director of the UNECA East Africa Center for Economic Development, Kigali, Rwanda. CAO United Nations Office in Burundi; Chief Civilian Personal officer (CCPO), United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in East Timor, CCPO United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) including arranging for peacekeeping negotiations in Moscow, Russia. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) at which services included positions as Economic Affairs Officer, Chief Recruitment Officer; Chief Personal Officer and assignment to UNHQ New York for peacekeeping orientation mentorship prior to UN Peacekeeping Elections Observer in South Africa from UNHQs New York; and from 1979-1989, Dr Asombang was a Senior Lecturer Economics and Business Management at the United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN), Lusaka, Zambia where his UN career started. He was also UNIN’s SWAPO Consultant and Adviser on post political independence socio-economic development policies and implementation strategies and resources mobilization. As a Consultant and Adviser on social and economic development issues, including healthcare, he attended conferences not only in African countries but also in all the five continents. His numerous publications on socio-economic growth and development issues could be accessed in UN and University libraries to-date.
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We are delighted that POHER Board of Management has not only one of the most qualified and experienced Pan-Africanist but also a Globalist Consultant and Advisor. Wilfred W. Asombang(PhD) could be reached via E-mail address: asombangwilfred@yahoo.co.uk / phone +260979140311
Margaret-Mary Wilson MD, MBA, MRCP
Advisor
Dr Margaret-Mary Wilson is the Chief Medical Officer & Senior Vice President, UnitedHealthcare Global. Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Dr Wilson was an associate professor of Internal and Geriatric Medicine at St. Louis University, Missouri, where she also served as director of Geriatric Ambulatory Services and director of the Ortho-Geriatric Service. Her experience also includes direct patient care, medical education, patient safety, quality improvement, risk management, and utilization management in a variety of health care settings in Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Healthcare Quality Management, and completed a Clinical Cardiology fellowship at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in Hammersmith Hospital, U.K. Dr Wilson is a member of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and a fellow of the American Institute of Healthcare Quality, the American Board of Quality Assurance & Utilization Review Physicians, and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. Dr Wilson holds a Master in Business Administration with a specialization in Healthcare Management.
Dr Wilson has received numerous awards in medicine, including UnitedHealth Group’s inaugural Sages Interdisciplinary Collaboration Award, the Kathy Humphrey Award for Excellence in the promotion of cultural diversity in medical education, the St. Louis University William Osler Teaching Award for excellence in clinical teaching, the Gladney Diversity Award for outstanding performance as a medical educator, and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Chevening Award. She received a 2019 Business of Pride award from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and was named a 2018 “Woman Worth Watching” by Diversity Journal. Margaret-Mary has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals and textbooks
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(reference https://apps.einstein.br/forumqualidadeseguranca/english/modal/margaret-mary-wilson.html)
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