Appointment Announcement of AU-IBAR Acting Director - Dr. Nick Nwankpa
Posted by Patricia Lumba on 09 July 2021 11:30 AM CAT
AU-IBAR is pleased to announce Dr. Nick Nwankpa as Acting Director, effective May 2021.
Dr. Nick Nwankpa, a Nigerian national, is a veterinarian and holds a Ph.D. degree in Veterinary Microbiology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has more than 26 years of working experience in animal disease control at the National and International levels. He was the head of Mycoplasma Research Laboratory at the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria, before joining the African Union in October 2010 as the Senior Veterinary Vaccine Officer responsible for overseeing all Quality control activities at AU-PANVAC.
As the Veterinary Vaccine Officer, Dr. Nick Nwankpa supervised several projects. Some include the “OIE Sub-grant project to AU-PANVAC”; a project relating to Vaccine Standards and Pilot Approach to Peste des petits ruminants(PPR) Control in Africa, and the “Vaccines Against Neglected Animal Diseases in Africa” (VACNADA) project; a project funded by the EU through GALVmed.
He also serves as the Director of AU-PANVAC, a position he has held since March 2015. AU-PANVAC is the only Organization mandated by the African Union to Certify all Veterinary vaccines produced or imported into Africa for use.
Dr. Nick Nwankpa has several publications in National and Internal Journals.
Speaking during a staff meeting held on 30th June 2021, when he engaged with AU-IBAR staff on operation and project issues, Dr. Nwankpa noted the critical mandate of AU-IBAR in providing leadership on animal resources development on the continent. He further said that as a team, and under his guidance, AU-IBAR would continue playing an integral role in providing services to member countries across the continent.