Helen Nonso Odega is the Executive Director of the Centre for Women’s Health and Adolescents Development, a nongovernmental organization that works to reduce maternal mortality and empower young people to make informed reproductive health choices.

She is also the State Secretary of the Rivers State Family Planning Advocacy Working Group, a member of the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Core Technical Working Committee of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, a Technical Partner at the Rivers State Adolescents and Youth Technical Working Group, and an Advisory Board member of the Hijabi Mentorship Foundation in Kenya.

Inspired by her passion for Maternal and Adolescent Health, Helen has spent over 15 years managing and implementing community-based interventions in Family Planning, HIV, Malaria, and Adolescents’ Sexual and Reproductive Health.

Helen is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Public Health, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She has obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree and a BSc. in Applied Biochemistry. Helen enjoys social work, event planning and coordination, teaching, cooking, and caring for children. She is a Fellow of the African Regional Sexuality Resource Centre, a 2016 & 2019 nominee for the 120under40 Young Family Planning Leader award, a Mandela Washington Fellow, and a 2022 African Woman in Development Award winner.