Pius Okong

Professor Pius Okong is a Ugandan Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a PhD from Karolinska Institutet and a Founding Fellow of the East, Central and Southern African College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (2018). He is currently a Professor and Chairperson of the Soroti University Council in Uganda.

In his career in Uganda, Professor Okong was employed by the Ministry of Health and served in various capacities in clinical practice from 1980 to 2012. He undertook postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Mulago National Referral Hospital from 1983 to 1986 and rose to the highest level of Senior Consultant and Head of Department at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya.

Professor Okong has been involved in research, including observational studies and clinical trials, from 1984 to the present, and has published 68 scientific papers. His main areas of research are maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, HIV and maternal and perinatal health, women's health, and public health.

He served as Chair of the WHO Advisory Panel on Research for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) for the WHO African (AFRO) and Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) Regions from 2002 to 2012. He has served on technical working groups in Uganda's Ministry of Health and at WHO Geneva, and has also provided technical consultancy services to UNFPA and UNICEF.

Professor Okong served on the Board of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) from 2008 to 2012 and on various FIGO committees from 2001 to 2025. He also served on the Guideline Development Group (GDG) for Ebola and has worked as a Temporary Consultant and expert in various areas within the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP).

He serves as an Honorary Professor at Mbarara University of Science and Technology and Uganda Christian University (UCU), and as a supervisor and external examiner for Master's and PhD students in Uganda and internationally, including at universities in Norway, Lund University, and Karolinska Institutet.

Professor Okong is a founding member of Save the Mothers, an NGO established in 2006. Through this initiative, Save the Mothers established a Master's degree programme in Public Health Leadership at Uganda Christian University.