Benjamin Chukwudum Nnamdi Anyene

Benjamin Chukwudum Nnamdi Anyene was a Nigerian physician, microbiologist, politician and public health reformer. He was born on June 8, 1951 in Imo, Nigeria. He studied medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and obtained his MBBS degree in 1977. He also obtained a master's degree in microbiology from the same university in 1982. He worked as a lecturer, researcher and consultant in various institutions, including the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. He was appointed as the Commissioner for Health in Anambra State in 2000 and served until 2003. He was instrumental in improving the health system and infrastructure in the state, as well as initiating several health programs and projects. He was also a board member and chairman of the board technical committee of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency from 2001 to 2015. He was a leading advocate for the passage and implementation of the National Health Act, which was signed into law in 2014. He was the chairman of the National Immunization Financing Task Force Team and the Health Sector Reform Coalition. He also served as the national policy and immunization advisor for a DFID and Norwegian government program for revitalizing routine immunization and maternal newborn and child health in northern Nigeria. He was a member of the Nigeria Academy of Science Vaccines and Immunization Committee and the vice chairman of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria for Safe Motherhood. He was also a member of the Iwuanyanwu committee that raised funds for Nigeria's first participation in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was a recipient of several awards and honors, including the Knight of St. Christopher by the Anglican Communion. He was married to Lady Ngozi K. and had four children. He died on December 29, 2019 in New York, U.S. after a battle with cancer. He was widely mourned and celebrated as a visionary and selfless health reformer who contributed immensely to the development of the Nigerian health sector.