Nike Esiet

Adenike Esiet is Co-founder and Executive Director of Action Health Inc., Lagos, with responsibility for the organization’s programme management and technical oversight for the Africa Regional Sexuality Resource Centre. Adenike is a sociologist and youth health advocate and over the last 20 years, she has used her extensive experience in policy advocacy and the workings of the Nigerian mass media to engender national consciousness and action on the poor status of adolescent health. Since 1989, she has contributed to building AHI from an idea into a vibrant organization that combines community based programming with national policy advocacy for sexual health and rights. She is actively involved in providing technical assistance to government agencies and NGOs working on youth health and gender equity, including catalyzing and facilitating the development and approval of the National Family Life and HIV/AIDS Education Curriculum currently in use in schools across Nigeria. As one of Nigeria’s key resource persons on adolescent health and development, she has offered keynote presentations, convened, facilitated and chaired workshops and conferences of various national and United Nations organizations. She has also served on WHO’s Gender Advisory Panel, Nigeria’s National AIDS and STD Control Programme’s Technical Advisory Committee (IEC) and currently serves on the Federal Ministry of Health’s National Adolescent Health Working Group, Chairperson of the Technical Working Group of the National Coalition of Women Against HIV/AIDS and the University of Columbia- based International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy. Amongst other professional awards, she is a recipient of the Ashoka International Fellowship for Public Innovators.