US Appoints New Disease Control Director For Nigeria

The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Nigeria on Tuesday said it has now come under fresh leadership with the appointment of Dr. Mary Adetinuke Boyd, as the new Country Director.

This was contained in a statement obtained from the United States Mission in Abuja.

The CDC, headquartered in Atalanta, is the national public health agency of the US.

Its Nigerian office was established in 2001 and housed on the US Embassy compound in Abuja.

It aims to achieve “’Public Health Excellence for Healthy Nigerians’ by working closely with the Government of Nigeria, local implementing partners, and other agencies of the U.S. Government and, collaboratively, strengthening Nigeria’s public health infrastructure through various public health programs and initiatives,” a statement from the US Mission in Nigeria’s website reads.

According to Tuesday’s statement, “in her new role, Dr. Boyd will lead the Nigeria office, which is one of CDC’s largest country offices, and support CDC’s collective efforts in global HIV and Tuberculosis, global health security, malaria elimination, and immunization.

“She joined CDC in the CDC Zambia country office, where she first served as Deputy Associate Director for Programs (2016-2018) and then as Senior Medical Advisor (2018-2020). While in Zambia, Dr. Boyd’s accomplishments included: leading the Antiretroviral Treatment Surge campaign; establishing the Zambia National HIV Clinical Mentorship program; and directing the first regional COVID-19 response ECHO community of practice in Southern Africa and West Africa.

“Dr. Boyd is a trained vaccinologist and conducted vaccine trials for influenza A (H1N1), live oral Shigella, Vibrio cholera, and Salmonella vaccine candidates from 2009-2013 at the University of Maryland’s Center for Vaccine Development. She subsequently joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where she led global health vaccine efforts, including for Ebola, from 2013-2016.

“Commander Dr. Boyd is an active duty physician in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and currently performs clinical practice at the U.S. Embassy Abuja Health Unit. She received her undergraduate degree in neurobiology and physiology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and completed her medical degree, residency, and fellowship in pediatrics and infectious diseases at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

“Since October 2020, Dr. Boyd has served as Senior Advisor for HIV and TB Prevention for CDC Nigeria as a regional and international expert on HIV and TB prevention. She takes over from Dr. Omotayo Bolu who acted as Country Director since the end of the tenure of the former Director, Dr. Mahesh Swaminathan.”