26/06/2025
MEET OUR SPEAKER: Chinasa Ude Imo; Global Health Policy Strategist & Convener, What About Rural Health?™
Chinasa Ude Imo is a passionate global health and development advocate with extensive experience in health policy, communications, and humanitarian response. Before moving to the U.S., she worked with Options Consultancy Services’ Evidence for Action-MamaYe program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Starting as Nigeria’s Country Communications Officer, she later became the Niger State Advisor, where she collaborated with the Ministry of Health, civil society, and media to strengthen maternal and newborn health systems. Her work influenced budget processes and improved access to essential medicines and skilled healthcare personnel.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinasa supported Niger State’s response as part of the African Union’s AVoHC network, and earlier, she served as a frontline responder during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, coordinating risk communication in Nigeria and Sierra Leone under the African Union and NCDC. She worked with several international agencies including UNICEF, UNMEER, and the WFP.
A dedicated policy advocate, she is a former ONE Campaign Africa Champion and active U.S. Activist, lobbying for global health funding and universal health coverage in both the U.S. and Nigeria.
Chinasa is the founder of SieDi-Hub, a non-profit promoting social justice and access to rights-based services, and co-founder of the African Youth Employment Initiatives (AYEI), a pan-African platform empowering rural youth through innovative agriculture and career development. AYEI holds consultative status with the UN ECOSOC and advises the African Development Bank.
She holds degrees in Public Administration, Diplomacy, and International Development Policy, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Global Health and Social Welfare Policy at the University of Chicago. She also serves as an advisor to several NGOs.
Currently based in South Side Chicago, Chinasa leads psychosocial programs for women and youth experiencing adversity. She is an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, a Change Collective member, and a University of Chicago health policy grantee.
