Ekanem Esu Williams (born 1950) is a Nigerian-born immunologist and a reproductive health and rights activist.

Life and work

Born in northern Nigeria, Williams was the third of eight children. She received her first degree from the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal and public research university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, South-east Nigeria. Founded in 1955 by Nnamdi Azikiwe who was Governor-General of Nigeria between 1960 and 1963 ...

in 1975, then graduated from

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, South Africa. In 1984, she earned a doctorate in immunology from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1985 she returned to Nigeria to take a post at the

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a federal university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second-generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975. ...

; two years later she was passed over for promotion, because it was felt that she already had more than a woman could expect. She is a founding member of the Society for Women and AIDS Against Africa in 1998, and she is also a trustee of The Listen Charity South Africa. She served as a research associate at the

Population Council The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The Council conducts research in biomedicine, social science, and public health and helps build research capacities in developing countries. One-third of its re ...

in Washington, DC, and Johannesburg, from 1998 to 2007. Williams became a program officer with the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

in 2007 working from the foundation's Southern Africa office in Johannesburg. There, she has concentrated on the work of HIV/AIDS and reproductive health and rights issues in several sub-Saharan African countries.

Selected works

* Esu-Williams, E., Mulanga-Kabeya, C., Takena, H., Zwandor, A., Aminu, K., Adamu, I., ... & Delaporte, E. (1997). Seroprevalence of HIV-1, HIV-2, and HIV-1 group O in Nigeria: evidence for a growing increase of HIV infection. ''Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes'', ''16''(3), 204–210. * Jubier-Maurin, V., Saragosti, S., Perret, J. L., Mpoudi, E., Esu-Williams, E., Mulanga, C., ... & Peeters, M. (1999). Genetic characterization of the nef gene from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 group M strains representing genetic subtypes A, B, C, E, F, G, and H. ''AIDS research and human retroviruses'', ''15''(1), 23–32. * Esu-Williams, E. (2000). Gender and HIV/AIDS in Africa− Our Hope Lies in the Future. ''Journal of health communication'', ''5''(sup1), 123–126. * Peeters, M., Esu-Williams, E., Vergne, L., Montavon, C., Mulanga-Kabeya, C., Harry, T., ... & Delaporte, E. (2000). Predominance of subtype A and G HIV type 1 in Nigeria, with geographical differences in their distribution. ''AIDS research and human retroviruses'', ''16''(4), 315–325. * Geibel, S., Luchters, S., King'Ola, N., Esu-Williams, E., Rinyiru, A., & Tun, W. (2008). Factors associated with self-reported unprotected anal sex among male sex workers in Mombasa, Kenya. ''Sexually transmitted diseases'', 746–752.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Eka 1950 births Living people Nigerian HIV/AIDS activists Nigerian women activists Immunologists Nigerian medical doctors Nigerian women biologists Alumni of the University of London University of Nigeria alumni Academic staff of the University of Calabar 20th-century women scientists 21st-century women scientists