Dr Obioma Chijioke-Akaniro is a public health leader in Nigeria transforming research into tuberculosis control policies. TDR’s training opportunities have empowered Obioma to become a research champion within the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and inspired her to train hundreds of young researchers across Nigeria.
Dr Obioma Chijioke-Akaniro is Deputy Director and Monitoring and Evaluations Manager at the National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme in Nigeria, where tuberculosis (TB) is the fourth leading cause of death in Nigeria.
Almost ten years ago, Obioma participated in TDR’s first training programme designed for the newly-formed West African Regional Network for TB Control (WARN-TB) – consisting of 16 national TB programmes. Its aim: to strengthen national TB programmes’ operational research (OR) and implementation research (IR) skills across West Africa, with the involvement of at least two people from each country's national TB programme in a learn-by-doing training programme. Dr Obioma was part of the Nigeria team.
Since her training, Obioma has led multiple research projects in Nigeria, revitalizing and guiding the development of the National TB Research Agenda. She also leads Nigeria’s National TB Research Task Force.
And thanks to her mantra of following the evidence and investing in research, Obioma is pleased that Nigeria has improved its TB detection and treatment coverage rates. “Our weapon? Data. In 2017, we could only identify about 24% of those with TB during our prevalence surveys but in 2025 it was about 87%. We have pulled together our evidence-based practices to uncover the data,” says Obioma.
For Obioma, it’s the four Cs that will continue to help improve TB control in Nigeria.
Involving communities:
The National TB Research Task Force insists that TB survivors are represented as community stakeholders. “It's actually a game changer because they are at the table as you discuss research projects and they are key to community entry,” says Obioma. “We believe you can't serve those affected by TB without listening to them.”
Building research capacity and developing research champions:
Obioma highlights the importance of continuing to build capacity among her monitoring and evaluation (M&E) officers around the country.
She highlights TDR’s MOOC series as key to keeping her team updated in the latest research methods. “Given the current funding landscape it’s not possible for us to send staff to in-person training sessions. But having these virtual and interactive courses made available for free removes the burden of us trying to find funding for training. This is a big plus for the country.”
She has also started offering her own online research methodology classes, which have reached more than 500 students from Africa and further afield.
“So TDR didn't just build me, they have built hundreds of others,” she says.
She is particularly pleased with how the young scientists she currently mentors (and encourages to take online research courses) will be the next generation of research champions.
Continuous improvement:
Obioma’s love for research led her to recently complete her PhD in public health – graduating with a distinction.
As her career progresses, she will find herself in positions to shape health policy. She hopes to continue to work with TDR in the area of health system strengthening (HSS). “When I look at HSS, I see a whole lot of fragmentation: governance, financing, workforce, medicine delivery. But I know in my heart that there's a way they can communicate and interlink. This is what service delivery should ride on. The data will prove this.”
For more information, please contact Dr Corinne Merle.