IN

Ismael Ngnie-Teta

UNICEF, Helen Keller International, University of Montreal, UNICEF Zimbabwe

ORCID iD 0000-0002-6126-9148
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About

Dr. Ismael Ngnie Teta is a nutritional epidemiologist and public health scholar with over 20 years of experience in research, program design, and policy translation across Africa, the Caribbean, and North America. His work bridges applied nutrition research, epidemiological analysis, and programmatic innovation in both development and humanitarian contexts.

He currently serves as Chief of Nutrition at UNICEF Kenya, where he leads evidence-based policy dialogue, program evaluation, and multisectoral initiatives linking food systems, maternal and child health, and early childhood development. His prior academic and professional roles include Country Director for Helen Keller International (Cameroon) and senior UNICEF positions in Zimbabwe, Guinea, Chad, Haiti, and Yemen, where he coordinated national nutrition surveys, led operational research, and contributed to global learning on stunting, wasting, and micronutrient interventions.

Dr. Teta’s research portfolio includes more than 35 peer-reviewed scientific papers, several book chapters, and three books, focusing on child malnutrition, anemia, food fortification, feeding behaviors, and ethics in global health research. His work has been published in leading journals such as Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Nutrients, BMC Nutrition, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, and PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

He is an Associate Researcher at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences and lectures at universities in Cameroon and Guinea, mentoring graduate students in nutrition epidemiology, program evaluation, and scientific writing. His research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to generate actionable evidence for public health policy, with a growing interest in bioethics, law, and governance in nutrition programming.

Dr. Teta holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Nutritional Epidemiology from the University of Montreal, and a B.Sc. in Law from IUSTY Yaoundé. He is also pursuing doctoral studies in Bioethics at Euclid University.

His ongoing work explores the intersection of nutrition, ethics, and systems resilience, contributing to global dialogues on sustainable development, food systems for children, and the decolonization of health research.

EDUCATION

PHD. NUTRITIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Faculty of Medicine, 2005
University of Montreal, Canada

PHD. BIOETHICS, Clinical and Global Health Bioethics, Ongoing
Euclid University, Intergovernmental Institution

MSc. in NUTRITION, Faculty of Medicine, 2002
University of Montreal, Canada

BSc. in BIOCHEMISTRY, Faculty of Sciences 2000
University of Dschang, Cameroon

BSc. in LAW, Faculty of LAW 2023
IUSTY, Yaoundé, Cameroon

CONTINUED EDUCATION
Life Coaching and Mindfulness
NewSkills Academy, United Kingdom 2019
Management and Leadership: Dynamic Leadership Certificate Programme (DLC2)
Harvard Business School / UNICEF 2013
Monitoring and

Employment

  • UNICEF CHIEF OF NUTRITION
    2023 - Present
  • Helen Keller International Country Director
    2018 - Present
  • UNICEF Zimbabwe Chief Nutrition
    2011 - Present

Education

  • University of Montreal PhD

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (41)