| Sandra Ikegwuruka
When knowledge moves beyond the classroom and begins shaping policies, strengthening systems and improving lives, scholarship takes on a different meaning.
That is the kind of impact Professor Cheluchi Onyemelukwe represents. Professor of Law and a leading health law and policy expert in Africa.
Her work sits at the intersection of law, health governance, gender, human rights and migration fields with consequences that extend far beyond academic institutions.
From Research to Policy
Prof. Onyemelukwe has contributed to the development of significant health legislation and policies in Nigeria, including the National Mental Health Act, 2021 and the National Health Insurance Authority Act, 2022. She has also contributed to the development of public health emergency laws and national policies addressing female genital mutilation, gender-based violence and mental health.
Her work also extends internationally. She leads a subgroup of the WHO Global Network on Disability Health Equity and has supported the implementation of the International Health Regulations.
Her leadership in national initiatives includes serving as Chair of Nigeria’s National Taskforce on Decriminalisation of Attempted Suicide and Chair of the National Gender in Health Technical Committee, alongside participation in other national health and research initiatives.
Beyond Health: Law, Migration and Human Rights
Her expertise also reaches migration law and policy.
Since 2022, Prof. Onyemelukwe has represented Nigeria on the Legal Network of Experts on Migration in West and Central Africa. She led the development of Nigeria’s National Diaspora Policy and is currently leading the development of the National Referral Mechanism for Vulnerable Migrants.
These areas of work speak directly to the need for stronger institutions, greater inclusion and systems that protect people particularly those whose circumstances place them at greater risk of inequality.
Scholarship With Global Reach
Prof. Onyemelukwe's research has been published internationally, focusing on health governance, gender and human rights. She is the author of Health Research Governance in Africa: The Law, Ethics, and Regulation of Research Involving Humans, published by Routledge, and has authored numerous journal articles and book chapters.
Her academic and professional contributions have earned several recognitions, including the Nigeria Health Hero honour in 2020 and the Access Bank Power of 100 Women Africa Award in 2025 for her leadership in health and law in Africa.
She holds a doctorate in Law from Dalhousie University, Canada, and graduated with First Class honours in Law from the University of Nigeria. Her academic distinctions include the Killam Scholarship, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship Training Award and several other prestigious awards.
And Then There Is the Writer
There is another dimension to Prof. Onyemelukwe's story.
Beyond law and policy, she is an acclaimed writer. Her novel, The Son of the House, has been translated into Italian and Armenian, with an Arabic edition forthcoming. The novel has received major national and international recognition, including the Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2021 and the SprinNG Women Author’s Prize 2020.
Knowledge That Advances the SDGs
Prof. Onyemelukwe's work demonstrates how scholarship can contribute to real-world development.
Her work supports the advancement of:
• SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, through health law, health governance and universal health coverage.
• SDG 4 – Quality Education, through research, scholarship and knowledge production.
• SDG 5 – Gender Equality, through work addressing gender-based violence and gender in health.
• SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities, through her work in disability health equity, migration and human rights.
This is what makes her story Babcock Proud.
It is a story of knowledge that does not stop at publication; expertise that enters policy; and scholarship that responds to the realities of people and communities.
At Babcock University, excellence is not simply about what we know. It is about what that knowledge can do.
Prof. Cheluchi Onyemelukwe is one example of Babcock scholarship making that difference at home and around the world.
This is Babcock Proud.