A new book on the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention illustrates the blood, sweat, and tears that go into the building of a global health institution.
The married couple Vivianne and Chikwe Ihekweazu who authored “An Imperfect Storm: A Pandemic and the Coming of Age of a Nigerian Institution” joined Devex Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar for a Devex event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York City. Kumar called them “global health’s power couple.”
Chikwe is the assistant director-general at the World Health Organization, but previously served as the inaugural director-general of Nigeria CDC. Vivianne is the managing director of Nigeria Health Watch, a nonprofit which advocates for better health for Nigerians.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
