An award winning and passionate medical specialist with broad medical exposure both locally and internationally, Dr Abia Nzelu is a Trustee and the Executive Secretary / CEO of mass medical mission. She graduated from the University of Benin with a Bachelor in Medicine and Bachelor in Surgery degree, followed by over two decades of clinical and administrative experience, spanning the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Dr Abia has obtained international postgraduate fellowships and certifications from three continents, including Africa, Asia (the Republic of India) and the Americas (the Republic of Brazil). Abia is a Fellow and Consultant of both the West African College of Surgeons and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.
Abia’s professional career has involved exposure to world – renowned institutions like the Vision Institute, Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil; Aravind Hospital and Postgraduate Institute, India; Narayana Nethralaya Hospital and Postgraduate Institute, India; the Lagos University Teaching Hospital; among others.
She is the coordinator of the Voluntary Integrated Sight-Saving Initiative of Nigeria (VISSION) and its mobile community-based arm, known as Mission PinkVISSION which integrates ocular oncology and blindness prevention into the National Cancer Prevention Programme and other initiatives of mass medical mission.
Having a keen interest in research, Dr Nzelu has presented papers in local and international conferences, and is also a member of several local and international academic societies.
A champion of catalytic and concerted philanthropy, Dr Abia authored a seminal book titled “Giving in Nigeria – An Environmental Scan”, a publication that was funded by the Ford Foundation and founded the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy and ↓↑Givingtide international.