Obinna Ekwunife (B.Pharm, MPharm, PhD, HEORc)
(Expertise) Dr Obinna Ekwunife is a pharmacist and health economist with expertise in health economic evaluation, evidence-based public health, and implementation science, including the design of cluster randomized trials. These research methods are applied by him to generate evidence to aid healthcare decisions in developing countries. Obinna has a good understanding of the different types of healthcare markets, methods of evaluating the costs and comparative effectiveness of medical technologies, as well as coverage and payment policies intended to address access, pricing, and reimbursement of medical technologies. Additionally, he is a data science and analytics enthusiast with expertise in extracting, processing and analyzing large datasets.
(Research) His research focus is mainly on HIV, neglected tropical diseases, and malaria. He has 42 publications in Scopus-indexed journals (with a Scopus H-index of 13) and 60 published articles (with a Google Scholar H-index of 18). In his current research, he works with a multidisciplinary and multi-country team (at Fred Hutch, Seattle, and KEMRI/Jomo Kenyatta University, Kenya) to design and implement differentiated models of HIV PrEP delivery in Kenya, with potential extension to other sub-Saharan African countries.
(Accolades) He is a fellow of the Nigerian Young Academy (NYA), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AVH), and a former Takemi Fellow at Harvard School of Public Health. Additionally, he holds the position of one of the program managers of the Social Innovation in Health Initiative (SIHI) Nigeria Hub, which is based at Nnamdi Azikiwe University. This initiative is a World Health Organization/TDR-sponsored project that aims to identify and promote social innovations in health in Nigeria.
(Family & hobbies) Obinna is happily married to Ifeyinwa and both have three children. At his spare time, Obinna likes hiking and playing football.
Most recent publications
1. Onwunduba A, Ekwunife O, Onyilogwu E. Impact of point-of-care c-reactive protein testing intervention on non-prescription dispensing of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections in private community pharmacies in Nigeria: a cluster randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2022. Doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2022.12.006
2. Ekwunife OI, Ejie IL, Okelu V, Mita C, Durosinmi-Eti O, Powell A, Franke F Molly. Interventions to increase the uptake and continuation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by adolescent girls and young women at high risk of HIV in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review. BMJ Global Health 2022;7:e009474. doi:10.1136/ bmjgh-2022-009474
3. Ekwunife OI, Anetoh MU, Kalu SO, Ele PU, Egbewale BE, Eleje GU. Impact of conditional economic incentives and motivational interviewing on health outcomes of adolescents living with HIV in Anambra State, Nigeria: A cluster-randomised trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2022 Sep 15;30:100997. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100997.
4. Okafor C, Ekwunife OI. Cost-benefit analysis of introducing rotavirus vaccine in eight sub-Saharan African Countries. Lancet Global Health. 2021 Aug 5, 9(8): e1088-e1100. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(21)00220-5
5. Ekwunife OI, Ofomata CJ, Okafor CE, Anetoh MU, Kalu SO, Ele PU, Eleje GU. Cost-effectiveness and feasibility of conditional economic incentives and motivational interviewing to improve HIV health outcomes of adolescents living with HIV in Anambra State, Nigeria. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Jul 11;21(1):685. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06718-4.