Eka Esu Williams Explained

Eka Esu Williams
Birth Name:	Ekanem Esu Williams
Birth Date:	1950
Birth Place:	Northern Nigeria
Nationality:	Nigerian
Alma Mater:	University of Nigeria University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa University of London
Occupation:	Immunologist and activist

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.^[1] She received her first degree from the University of Nigeria in 1975, then graduated from University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. In 1984, she earned a doctorate in immunology from the University of London.^[2] In 1985 she returned to Nigeria to take a post at the University of Calabar; 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.^[3]

She served as a research associate at the Population Council in Washington, DC, and Johannesburg, from 1998 to 2007.

Williams became a program officer with the Ford Foundation 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.^[4]

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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Eka Esu-Williams. www.distinguishedwomen.com. 1 October 2017.
2. Book: Kathleen E. Sheldon. Historical Dictionary of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. 2005. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-5331-7.
3. Web site: Eka Williams - THE LISTEN CAMPAIGN. listencharity.com. 1 October 2017.
4. Web site: Eka Williams. Ford Foundation. 1 October 2017.