Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet. By Chido Nwangwu. Follow on X (Twitter) @Chido247
With deserving respect for his contributions and relentless determination to improve the lives of communities, the scholar, physician, philanthropist and mentor, Dr. Odiraa Nwankwor, is recognized and profiled as a Champion of International Health Empowerment in the Houston-headquartered USAfrica and USAfricaLIVE.com
Dr. Nwankwor is a pediatric intensivist at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Wilmington in Delaware and Cooper University, Camden in New Jersey. Also, he has a Masters degree in Public Health (MPH). 
He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Nwankwor has remained a resourceful catalyst to high-value, free medical missions from the diaspora to Nigeria and a few countries, so far, in the continent of Africa. He also mentored many young students.
He is the Founder of the Health Place for Children Initiative, Global Health Projects Inc and Nigeria Pediatric ICU (PICU) Project, with support from Nemours Children’s Hospital and Cooper University Hospital.
On Tuesday May 20, 2025, at Nemours Healthcare Academy, his group hosted students from the Wilmington Area High School in the State of Delaware.
He informed USAfrica that the young persons’ event is a “part of our effort to encourage and mentor high school students who have an interest in the healthcare profession. We took the students on a hospital-wide tour and then engaged them in simulation skills stations.” 
His team visited on a medical mission with the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah. On April 3, 2025, they conducted free ENT surgeries and generously donated state-of-the-art medical equipment to the Children’s Emergency Clinic in the State.
Ever an optimist regarding the capacities of young minds, he added that “There was so much excitement around. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for these vibrant and brilliant young minds.”
He secured the equipment and shared the information that “we received 3 hemodialysis machines for our Nigeria PICU Project. Thanks to the Dialysis Unit, Nemours Children’s Hospital, Wilmington in the State of Delaware.” Collectively, to extend the appreciation of the Nigeria Project team members, Dr. Nwankwor wrote a simple but special message: “Grateful heart” with the heart symbol. 
One of the latest efforts where he led his group to reduce the challenges of inadequate equipment, and, in some cases, replace outdated medical supplies took place a few weeks ago, in Anambra State of Nigeria, on May 21, 2025.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor of Anambra State, Ernest Ezeajughi, took delivery of Dr. Nwankwor’s donation of medical supplies and healthcare modern equipment.
Chief Ezeajughi, an astute advocate for Gov. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, applauded his boss, a former Governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria. He conveyed Gov. Soludo’s appreciation of the contributions and efforts of Anambra State indigenes such as Dr. Nwankwor.
Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Joe Akabuike, Dr. Nwankwor’s father, Chief Patrick Nwankwor, several dignitaries and members of the university and the Amaku-Awka community were at the event.
“In my country of birth (Nigeria), pediatric medical services – particularly intensive care services — are often substandard, and it’s a sad fact that one out of every eight children born in Nigeria will die before age 5 often of preventable diseases,” said Dr. Nwankwor. “We established this mission to help the citizens by building and maintaining strong health systems through international collaboration and support.” 
Dr. Nwankwor is a Visiting Scholar at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and a Fellow of the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program.
The brilliant and public-spirited catalyst has been recognized for several accomplishments by his peers.
He was awarded the title of “Ambassador Per Excellence” by the University of Nigeria College of Medicine Alumni Association of North America (UNCOMAA-NA), during their AGM/Gala and the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) Conference 2025, at the Eko Hotels, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The American Association of Physician Leadership (AAPL) lists him as a Certified Physician Executive and a Public Health Expert. 
Dr. Nwankwor is credited with leading the establishment of the first Pediatric ICU in Nigeria at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla Enugu State (in 2019). He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Advance Pediatrics Life Support Global Steering Committee, and Committee Member, World Sepsis Congress of the Global Sepsis Alliance.
He is a member of Beta Sigma Fraternity of the University of Nigeria, (UNN-UNEC) alumni network. •Dr. Chido Nwangwu, author of the forthcoming 2025 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity., is the Founder of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He has appeared as an analyst on CNN, Al Jazeera, SKYnews, and served as an adviser on Africa business to Houston’s former Mayor Lee Brown. Follow on X (Twitter) @Chido247
- This profile of Dr. Odiraa Nwankwor is published with the permission of the author and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com
