Dr. Uchenna Elemuwa is the Director of Pharmacovigilance at Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). In her role, she oversees the implementation of the National Pharmacovigilance Policy, coordinating medicine safety activities in Nigeria. Dr. Elemuwa obtained a Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacotherapy from the University of Benin. She earned her Bachelor of Pharmacy (BPharm) from the University of Jos. She holds a Master’s Degrees in Clinical Pharmacy and Bio-pharmacy, and Industrial Labour and Relations. She is a fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists.

Under her leadership, NAFDAC’s Pharmacovigilance Directorate has strengthened national systems for monitoring adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and adverse events following immunization (AEFIs). Dr. Elemuwa also leads collaborations with international partners, including the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, a WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring. She has been instrumental in expanding pharmacovigilance outreach through zonal centers in tertiary hospitals across Nigeria and training healthcare providers on medicine safety practices.

Dr. Elemuwa was the Chairperson Expert Working Group (EWG) on Clinical Trial, Pharmacovigilance, and Medicine Safety for the ECOWAS Medicine Regulatory Harmonisation Programme from 2016 to 2022. She is the current Chairperson for the EWG on Pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring from 2023 to date, and the Lead for the African Union Smart Safety Surveillance (AU 3S) Project in Nigeria. She is a Member of the National Coordinating Committee of the National Expert Committee on Adverse Events following Immunization (AEFI) Causality Assessment in Nigeria. She also leads the Saving Lives and Livelihood Pharmacovigilance Project sponsored by Mastercard through the African Centre for Disease Control.

She is instrumental to Nigeria achieving Maturity Level 3 during the WHO Global Benchmarking Assessment covering the Pharmacovigilance indicators.