Dora Akunyili

Dr. Dora Nkem Akunyili is the Director General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) of Nigeria. She is a pharmacist, professor and governmental administrator who has gained international recognition and won hundreds of awards for her work in pharmacology, public health and human rights.

NAFDAC leadership
Ever since Prof. Akunyili took over leadership of NAFDAC, she has established as a top priority the eradication of counterfeit drugs and unsafe food. Before Prof. Akunyili assumed duty, Nigeria became a place where fake and substandard foods and drugs were being dumped without any form of regulations. This gave way to widespread corruption. With the emergence of Prof. Akunyili, came “a new culture of excellence and honesty within NAFDAC and the entire establishment of public regulation, scrutiny, and investigation.” There has been improvement in various sectors such as, Improvement in the Health and Pharmaceutical Sub-Sector, Infrastructure, and Improvement in health indices. She became angry because “so many of (her) countrymen and women (were) fighting killer diseases like malaria and tuberculosis with little more than sugar syrup and chalk tablets, cynically packaged to look like the real thing.”. Although Prof. Akunyili has faced considerable risk to her personal safety in order to combat the issue of fake drugs, “She [has been] dancing with danger. And she [has been collecting] very visibly awards all over the world appearing with whomever has a smile to share.”

Awards Received
Some of the awards Prof. Akunyili received are:
 * Time Magazine Award 2006( "One of the eighteen heroes of our time")- Time Magazine Inc.
 * Person of the Year 2005 Award - Silverbird Communications Ltd, Lagos, 05-01-2006
 * Award of Excellence - Integrated World Services (IWS), Dec. 2005
 * Award of Excellence - Advocacy for Democracy Dividends International, Lagos, 17-12-2005
 * Meritorious Award 2005 - St. Michael’s Military Catholic Church, Apapa, Lagos, 04-12-2005
 * African Virtuous and Entrepreneurial Women Merit Award 2005 - African Biographical Network, Dec. 2005
 * Award for the Best Government Parastatal - National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), December 2005
 * An Icon of Excellence Award - The African Cultural Institute and Zenith Bank Plc, 08-12-2005
 * 2005 Grassroots Human Rights Campaigner Award London Based Human Rights Defense Organization. 08-12-2005
 * Most Innovative Director Award Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos. Oct. 2005.
 * Integrity Award 2003 - Transparency International.