About Us
West African Stroke Initiative
The West African Stroke Initiative offers services that deal with cerebrovascular problems involving the brain, spine, and neck region. We seek to establish a private academic partnership that will offer services and train Neurosurgeons, Radiologists, and Neurologists to carry out neck and head interventions for acute stroke patients, aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, brain bleeds, and endovascular treatments in the brain, spine, and neck region while addressing the myths, cultural perceptions, and religious interpretations around these neurological conditions.
Unfortunately, few organizations are attending to the needs of these patient populations. Partnering with private and public sub-acute and primary care organizations, we will deliver services to support patients, caregivers, and their families as they transition from the hospital to home to optimize outcomes, including minimizing complications, promoting health, quality of life, and improving patients experience with care while decreasing use of costly healthcare services.
Meet the Team
Uchenna Okafo
MBBS, MRCSI, FRCSI (SN), FEBNS
Chief Executive Officer
Co-Founder
Dr Uchenna Okafo is a Neurointerventional Radiology Fellow at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed a Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology Fellow at the University of Minnesota. Dr Okafo also previously completed a Neurosurgery Residency at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2016 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, FRCS(SN). Dr Okafo is a Fellow of the European Board of Neurological Surgery (FEBNS).
Dr Okafo has both trained and practiced Neurosurgery at Cork University Hospital and Beaumon tHospital in Dublin from July 2006 to June 2016. He also worked at several Neurosurgery centers in the UK as a registered Specialist with the GMC, from July 2017 – June 2021. He completed Medical School and received his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in 2000.
Onome Henry Osokpo
PhD, MSc., MSN, RN
Chief Scientific & Operations Officer
Co-Founder
Dr. Osokpo is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously he was Penn Provost Postdoctoral Fellow and a CICADA scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on understanding and addressing the multilevel barriers to health care—including sociocultural, economic, behavioral, and system (e.g., organizational)—that adversely impact the health and health outcomes of adults with or at risk for chronic illnesses, including stroke. Dr. Osokpo’s research interests are grounded in his life experiences as a Black and his academic and clinical training. His work seeks to improve health outcomes for vulnerable groups faced with adverse Social Determinants of Health, including racial and ethnic minorities and individuals residing in low- to middle-income countries.
Dr. Osokpo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Kass Scholar, a Jonas Nursing Scholar, and a Fontaine Society Fellow. He received his MSN in the Adult and Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Stony Brook University. Dr. Osokpo’s degrees prior to nursing comprise a Bachelor of Science in chemistry education and a Master of Science in analytical chemistry.
Board of Advisors