Dr Nkem Onwumechili

Dr Nkem Onwumechili is the Chief Executive Officer of Preston Associates for International Development, with headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, where she has provided visionary leadership for over a decade. She is a thought leader in data utilization as a means to leap-frog development on the african continent. She champions improved inclusion in AI ethics and governance and promotes afrocentric approaches to evaluation and research protocols. She is dedicated to reducing the barriers to entry for data generation and use by the average african. One of such efforts is the 2023 launch of the iwadii  app, which is a user friendly, one-stop-shop platform for the research-naiive to estimate resources needed, develop survey tools, collect data, analyze findings and report or share findings, all in one place. 

She gained her Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University Nigeria, Nsukka and a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University, New York, with a major in Health Policy and Management. She is an active member of the Nigerian Medical Association and a fellow of the West African Institute of Public Health,  a fellow of both the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom, as well as being a member of the American College of Health Care Executives and the American Association of Physician Leadership.

Nkem has over 25 years of experience in program monitoring and evaluation,  accountability mechanisms, quality improvement systems, as well as cost model analyses in Health, Education, Gender, Agriculture, Labour & Productivity, as well as Governance; across Africa, North America and Western Europe.   

She consults for multilateral agencies including the WHO, World Bank, UNFPA;  donors, including the Gates Foundation and MasterCard Foundation and bilateral agencies, including FCDO and USAID.