Oye Gureje

Oyewusi Gureje, NNOM (born in 1952) is a Nigerian psychiatrist at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and Director at the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health, Neurosciences, Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the institution. He is also a Professor Extraordinary at the Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is best known for his work on epidemiology, nosology and global mental health and as one of the leading voices on mental health service and policy development in Africa. Oye Gureje has published more than 500 peer-reviewed scientific papers, monographs, book chapters, and other reports. He has been listed, since 2004, in the "top 1% cited researchers in the area of psychiatry and psychology" and, according to Clarivate Analytics, he is one of the "most influential scientific minds"

Career Gureje has been teaching at the University of Ibadan as well as being a consultant psychiatrist at the University College Hospital since 1989. He was the head of the Department of Psychiatry in both institutions in 1999 – 2003 and 2007 -2011. In 2010, he established the Mental Health Leadership and Advocacy Programme (mhLAP) in the institution . The pioneering program has trained mental health specialists, service users, and carers, leaders of civil society organizations as well policymakers from across 10 sub-Saharan Africa countries in mental health leadership and advocacy skills and helped to form advocacy groups for mental health service development in the five West African anglophone countries, Nigeria and others. Gureje was president of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (2005 – 2009) and of the African Association of Psychiatrists and Allied Professions (2009 – 2014). He was the Zonal Representative for West and Central Africa of the World Psychiatric Association (2005 – 2008) He is a member of the Lancet Global Health Commission on High-Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era where he co-chaired the WorkGroup on Ethics. He was the Principal Investigator in the NIMH-funded Partnerships for Mental Health Development in Sub-Sahara Africa project, which included the conduct of the first randomized controlled trial of collaborative shared care for psychosis between traditional/faith healers and conventional. He has been involved in activities focused on strengthening mental health service development in low- and middle-income countries and chairs the National Mental Health Action Committee, a policy think-tank of the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health. Through his work on mhLAP, he has supported policy and service development in Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. He was, between 2001 and 2003, a member of the World Health Organization Alcohol Policy and Strategy Advisory Committee and, in 2009, was the convener of the WHO/WPA Policy Roundtable on Scaling-up of Mental Health Service in Africa attended by ministers of health or their representatives from several Sub-Saharan African countries.

Awards Gureje is a recipient of grants and endowments from several global bodies such as the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council (UK), Grand Challenges Canada, CBM Australia, European Union, International Development Research Center, the US National Institute of Mental Health, the Global Forum for Health Research and the World Health Organization. He is an Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association, a recipient of the Osun State award and Nigeria's highest award for academic achievement, the Nigeria National Order of Merit.