Renowned public health nutritionist and emergency response strategist, Ojamalia Priscilla Godwins, has called for urgent and sustained investment in nutrition-sensitive interventions across emergency-prone and low-resource settings.
Disclosing in a statement, she stressed that nutrition, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), and health education must be embedded at the core of all public health and humanitarian programs to address rising food insecurity and worsening health indicators in vulnerable populations.
She noted, “Nutrition in emergencies is not optional—it is a life-saving intervention that determines survival, recovery, and long-term stability.”
Ojamalia, whose work spans over a decade across nutrition, disaster risk management, and public health education, warned that failure to address food and nutrition security in crisis contexts threatens to reverse decades of development gains—particularly for women and children.
As Project Director of the World Bank largest-ever funded Nutrition project in Nigeria—Accelerating Nutrition in Nigeria (ANRiN), she leads the delivery of essential nutrition services to over 378,000 beneficiaries, designing integrated models that linked nutrition education, maternal-child health, and WASH interventions in high-risk and underserved communities.
She further noted that emergency nutrition must go hand-in-hand with safe water, sanitation, and health literacy. “We can’t separate one from the other when lives are at stake.”
Ojamalia further advocates for transforming local food environments to improve access to affordable, diverse, and nutrient-rich foods, especially during crises. Her experience in WASH programming includes assessments and training for frontline staff and displaced communities, ensuring hygiene promotion, water safety, and disease prevention are part of emergency response frameworks. “My work cuts across nutrition specific and nutrition sensitive approaches—It focuses on maternal-child nutrition, food systems, WASH, and the role of education in strengthening nutrition outcomes.”
The statement said Godwins has trained over 15,000 professionals across sectors on public health preparedness, food security, and health behavior change communication.
“My policy influence includes contributions to Nigeria’s National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NMPFAN), national food consumption surveys, and micronutrient surveillance.” The expert believes education—both formal and community-based—is vital to driving behavior change and improving outcomes in nutrition and hygiene.
“We must stop responding to health and food crises in isolation,” she concluded. “It’s time to invest in nutrition-smart systems that are clean, accessible, and informed by education. That is how we protect public health.”
Ojamalia has been recognized with numerous honors, including: Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Management, Professional Doctorate Fellowship – Chartered Institute of Disaster and Safety Managers (USA), “Friend of the Earth” Ambassadorial Award – Association of Climate Change Professionals, Outstanding Facilitator Award – For Health, WASH, and Public Health Trainings. She was also a featured exhibitor at the USAID Nutrition Expo, where she presented scalable models for Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) and integrated food-health systems in emergencies.
With her deep interdisciplinary expertise and on-the-ground impact, Ojamalia Priscilla Godwins continues to lead transformative solutions in nutrition, WASH, and public health—turning research into action for healthier, more resilient communities.