Dr. Oyeladun Okunromade is a seasoned public health physician, global health leader, and health security expert with extensive experience in epidemiology, disease surveillance, International Health Regulations (IHR), emergency preparedness and response, One Health, and public health policy development. She currently serves as the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), where she provides strategic leadership for policy development, health systems strengthening, programme coordination, research, and national public health initiatives.
Dr. Okunromade previously served as Nigeria’s National IHR Focal Point, where she played a major role in coordinating national and international public health responses and advancing Nigeria’s compliance with global health security obligations. Through her leadership in surveillance, multisectoral coordination, workforce development, and emergency management initiatives, she has contributed significantly to strengthening preparedness and response systems in Nigeria and across Africa. She coordinated Nigeria’s Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and has supported several regional and international health security initiatives, including JEEs in Botswana, the United States, Liberia, and other countries. She has also contributed to subnational health security assessments and quality management systems strengthening for laboratories under Global Fund-supported programmes.
Dr. Okunromade is a Fellow of the International Program in Public Health Leadership (IPPHL) University of Washington, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) Fellowship Programme, the Rx One Health Institute at the University of California, and the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme (NFELTP). She is also a Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Fellow, reflecting her strong commitment to transformational leadership in public health.
She currently serves as a member of the Africa Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention Expert Working Group on Priority Setting and Resource Optimization for Public Health Emergencies in Africa and as Chairperson of the Global Field Epidemiology Program Steering Committee.
In recognition of her contributions to public health and leadership, Dr. Okunromade was named among the Top 50 Women Voices in the NGO and Development Sector in Nigeria and the Top 100 Career Women in Africa in 2026. Her work focuses on building resilient health systems, strengthening health security, advancing evidence-informed policy development, and developing the next generation of public health leaders in Africa.
