Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Affiliations
REFERCENCES
Timeline
Generic

Michael Nwawo

Lagos

Summary

Dynamic public health senior officer with over 9 years of experience in enhancing community health outcomes through strategic program design and management. Expertise includes health systems strengthening, community engagement, and psycho-social support, driving impactful interventions in diverse settings. Proven ability to lead teams in complex environments, ensuring adherence to best practices and promoting compliance with health standards. Recognized for collaborative work with the government and extensive experience in leading teams to successfully achieve project goals through effective management, strategic planning, and fostering collaboration. Background includes conducting both biological and behavioral research, supported by strong leadership, creative problem-solving, and a talent for producing detailed reports and actionable recommendations to inform strategic public health initiatives. Demonstrated ability to develop and implement effective public health policies. Passionate about improving health outcomes and promoting sustainability, committed to making a meaningful impact in the public health sector.

Overview

8
8
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Senior Technical Officer (Mental Health)

THE NIGERIAN RED CROSS (UNHCR FUNDED PROJECT)
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
01.2021 - Current
  • Served as a member of the medical outreach team, ensuring the integration of mental health services into outreach activities and Primary Health Care (PHC) delivery.
  • Coordinated the management of mental health cases at the PHC level and initiated appropriate referrals for advanced care when necessary.
  • Provided Psychological First Aid (PFA) and psycho social support to victims of violence and abuse.
  • Identified protection concerns and ensured timely and adequate referrals to relevant services.
  • Collaborated with UNHCR and partner organisations to conduct Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) audits in target communities.
  • Followed up with Persons of Concern (PoCs) with Mental Health and Psycho social Support (MHPSS) needs to prevent defaulting, ensure medication refill, and promote adherence to treatment.
  • Organised community events to promote positive mental health behaviours and practices within settlements and host communities.
  • Established or leveraged existing structures to engage youth and promote MHPSS awareness and services in the settlement and surrounding communities.
  • Provided mentorship and technical guidance to PHC health workers on trauma-informed care and appropriate treatment of trauma-related conditions.
  • Supported the development and review of Terms of Reference (ToR) for planned activities, capacity building sessions, field missions, stakeholder engagements, and other initiatives.
  • Reviewed PHC encounter and referral bills for accuracy and endorsed valid submissions for onward transmission to National Headquarters (NHQ).
  • Mobilised and evacuated victims of displacement resulting from the communal war to safe zones where relief and succour were provided to aid their recovery

Team Lead

Public Health Information, Surveillance Solutions
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
06.2024 - 10.2024
  • Supervised daily field operations and ensured compliance with survey protocols.
  • Reviewed and validated field data for accuracy before syncing to server.
  • Maintained data confidentiality and ensured team safety during fieldwork.
  • Oversaw adherence to blood sample collection SOPs and documented adverse events.
  • reviewed all collected data on tablets of team members before syncing to the Server
  • Duly ensured that the confidentiality of the respondents within the households was fully protected.
  • Ensured quality assurance of laboratory work and equipment
  • Alongside the tracker/community mobilizer and community guide, I followed up and led the team to the assigned households.
  • I facilitated the planning and preparations for the daily work schedule.
  • Resolved all issues revolving around the field team's activities and operations
  • Ensured the well-being and safety of team members during field activities
  • Resolved all issues revolving around the field team's activities and operations, and made sure all samples are stored accurately. I made sure all adverse events experienced were properly documented and reported to the survey field coordinator


Team Lead

FIMARCH GLOBAL INITIATIVE (NON- GOVERNMENTAL)
Assisted With Health Commodities From Helen Keller
06.2021 - 12.2021
  • ctively coordinated a community-based diagnosis (needs assessment) project.
  • Conducted field assessments to identify prevailing health challenges, with a focus on community-specific risk factors and service delivery gaps.
  • Designed survey tools and trained data collectors to ensure accurate, ethical, and culturally appropriate data collection.
  • Led stakeholder engagement meetings with local authorities, community leaders, and health workers to gather insights and build buy-in.
  • Disease surveillance of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) including Schistosomiasis, Onchocerciasis, and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis within Uyo Metropolis and Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
  • Mapped endemic areas and supported the identification of transmission hotspots using epidemiological and GIS tools.
  • Coordinated specimen collection and laboratory testing in alignment with national surveillance protocols.
  • Collaborated with the State Ministry of Health and local PHCs to report cases and strengthen community-level NTD response mechanisms.
  • Facilitated community sensitization campaigns on NTD prevention, hygiene practices, and treatment adherence.
  • Prepared and submitted comprehensive reports and recommendations to inform control strategies and health planning.
  • Ensured timely referral of suspected and confirmed cases to designated health facilities for care and follow-up.

Adherence Counselor for the Integrated Biological

West African Centre for Public Health Development
FHI360(USAID/PEPFAR FUNDED )
08.2020 - 12.2020
  • Conducted evaluation of mapped out hotspots for key populations (KPs) in the enumerated areas.
  • Actively conducted ethically adhered to and confidential interviews using survey CTO data enabled tools for KPs including female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID) and Transgenders (TG).
  • Provided technical and pragmatic counselings support on protection issues to KPs of concern to implement quality social adaptability.
  • Adequately ensured all HIV reactive and non-reactive clients were duly linked to community-based organisations (CBOs) for necessary follow-up and care.
  • Provided psycho-social support and mental health services to victims of abuse from KPs including MSM and PWID of concern.
  • Worked at high-risk zones; at brothels, hotspots, drug bunks and other zones to ensure the survey objectives were achieved.
  • Observed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all hotspots visited during survey field activities.
  • Conducted routine monitoring and evaluation during night outs at designated hotspots.

Public Health Officer

Urban Primary Health Center Ikot Ekpene
National Primary Healthcare Development Agency
11.2017 - 12.2020
  • Health care management; providing health education, sensitization and health promotion activities. Health advocacy and facility-based data collection. Informal counseling, advanced general health screenings and referrals to secondary level of health where necessary.
  • Provision of epidemiological and statistical services. Community based surveillance of HIV/TB co-morbidity HIV/TB co-morbidity, malaria, Lassa fever, and COVID-19, including contact tracing and follow-up.
  • Provision of epidemiological and statistical services: Including data analysis, outbreak detection, surveillance reporting, and use of GIS tools for mapping disease trends.
  • Supporting immunization campaigns and cold chain logistics management at community and facility levels.
  • Designing and implementing community outreach programs for undeserved populations to improve health literacy and service uptake.
  • Participating in health systems strengthening activities, including operational research, health financing advocacy, and strategic planning.
  • Ensuring compliance with national and international guidelines (e.g., WHO, NCDC, FMOH) in all health-related interventions.

Adherence Case Manager TB/HIV Surge Project

University Of Uyo Teaching Hospital Family Health
(FHI 360) USAID/PEPFAR
01.2020 - 06.2020
  • Conducted client tracking and sensitisation for updated HIV/AIDS services
  • Participated in individual protection case management, including cases of Gender Based violence and child protection
  • Provided counselings on protection issues to persons of concern
  • Supported activities in protection-related AGD-based programming with implementing and operational partners
  • Assisted in identifying durable solutions for persons of concern in voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement
  • Provided technical and programmatic support to implement high-quality level HIV/AIDS, PMTCT, AR/HIV, TB, HCT and other services at the facility level
  • Monitored standard operating procedures (SOPS) for all protection activities
  • Assisted in drafting reports against routine correspondence, updated in relevant data-based and computing statistics for protection units
  • Ensured proper documentation of tracking outcomes in tracking tools
  • Contributed initiatives to enhance national and local protection capacities
  • Ensured all reactive clients on the day of their refills are screened for TB, Nutrition, GBV, Chronic conditions, positive health dignity, and reproductive intentions.

Field Coordinator/Supervisor Vaccine Stock Count

National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA
(UN-funded Project)
05.2019 - 09.2019
  • Conducted comprehensive stock count and physical verification of vaccines and immunization-related commodities across assigned health facilities by national standards.
  • Assessed the condition and compliance of cold chain equipment (CCE), vaccine storage units, and documentation tools to ensure alignment with best practices and WHO standards.
  • Identified and retrieved obsolete or expired vaccine vials no longer listed on the National Immunization Schedule approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
  • Ensured real-time data collection using ODK (Open Data Kit) tools and mobile devices, adhering strictly to approved survey protocols and data integrity standards.
  • Provided onsite mentorship to facility health workers on inventory record keeping, cold chain maintenance, and vaccine management practices.
  • Supervised field teams during enumeration exercises, ensuring compliance with safety and ethical guidelines, and resolving technical or logistical challenges promptly.

HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS B and C Adherence Counselor

MARYLAND GLOBAL INITIATIVE CORPORATION (MGIC) NIGE
NAIIS
07.2018 - 12.2018
  • orked with zonal mobilisers, field team members, and community focal persons to schedule household testing, sample collection and appropriate result disclosure on HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C.
  • Assisted and conducted community mobilisation within assigned states and selected enumerated areas across Nigeria.
  • Presented a comprehensive weekly report on work proceedings at the zonal levels.
  • Conducted health and behavioural interviews when necessary for eligible participants using an electronic data capture technique.
  • Received respondents' consent to be tested and provided per/post test counselings for all participating respondents.
  • Assisted in the referrals of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C infected individuals to Community Based Organisations (CBOs) for linkage to care and treatment.
  • Coordinated with a range of actors to ensure that state and confidential services are made available and accessible to survivors of Gender based violence and vulnerable individuals.
  • Conducted monthly activity review sessions with zonal and sub-zonal coordinators to identify necessary activities to be improved on.

Education

Master of Science - Master in Public Health

Texila American University
Georgetown Guyana
10-2023

Diploma - Mental Health

Alision School Of Health ( Affiliated With Univers
( Affiliated With University Of Miami)
11-2023

Bachelor of Science - Doctor of Optometry

Federal University of Technology
Owerri
11-2021

Bachelor of Science - Bachelor of Public Health

University of Calaber
Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria
12-2024

Skills

  • Community Engagement & Advocacy
  • Research, Data Collection & Data Analysis
  • MS Office & Digital Data Tools (ODK, Survey CTO,CAPI)
  • Community Engagement & Advocacy
  • Health System Strengthening
  • Biomedical & Epidemiological Surveillance
  • Strategic Planning & Policy Development
  • Public Health Program Design & Management
  • SOP Compliance & Quality Assurance
  • Psychosocial Support & Mental Health Care
  • Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL)
  • Community Engagement & Advocacy

Certification

  • HIV Counseling & Testing, Psychological First Aid The Nigeria Red Cross
  • Key Population HIV Counseling WACPHD
  • Monitoring and Evaluation in Public Health
  • Diploma in Health Informatics and Data Management
  • Mental Health and Resillance University of Toronto

Affiliations

  • Nigerian Red Cross Society
  • West African Centre for Public Health Development

REFERCENCES

Available on Request

Timeline

Team Lead

Public Health Information, Surveillance Solutions
06.2024 - 10.2024

Team Lead

FIMARCH GLOBAL INITIATIVE (NON- GOVERNMENTAL)
06.2021 - 12.2021

Senior Technical Officer (Mental Health)

THE NIGERIAN RED CROSS (UNHCR FUNDED PROJECT)
01.2021 - Current

Adherence Counselor for the Integrated Biological

West African Centre for Public Health Development
08.2020 - 12.2020

Adherence Case Manager TB/HIV Surge Project

University Of Uyo Teaching Hospital Family Health
01.2020 - 06.2020

Field Coordinator/Supervisor Vaccine Stock Count

National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA
05.2019 - 09.2019

HIV/AIDS, HEPATITIS B and C Adherence Counselor

MARYLAND GLOBAL INITIATIVE CORPORATION (MGIC) NIGE
07.2018 - 12.2018

Public Health Officer

Urban Primary Health Center Ikot Ekpene
11.2017 - 12.2020

Master of Science - Master in Public Health

Texila American University

Diploma - Mental Health

Alision School Of Health ( Affiliated With Univers

Bachelor of Science - Doctor of Optometry

Federal University of Technology

Bachelor of Science - Bachelor of Public Health

University of Calaber

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Michael Nwawo