Kemi DaSilva-Ibru Biography: The Doctor Who Refused to Look Away
Some professionals treat symptoms, while others go after the causes. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru is firmly in the second group. A trained obstetrician and gynaecologist who built a private practice across three continents, she could have spent her career in clinical comfort.
Instead, she returned to Nigeria, saw what gender-based violence was doing to women and girls in the communities around her, and decided that medicine alone was not enough.
What she built in response has made Kemi DaSilva-Ibru one of the most important voices in women’s health and safety not just in Nigeria, but across the African continent and beyond.
Profile Overview
| Full Name | Anita Kemi DaSilva-Ibru |
| Date of Birth | June 21, 1969 |
| Age | 56 years old (as of 2026) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Profession | Obstetrician, Gynaecologist, Public Health Physician, Activist |
| First Degree | College of Medicine, University of Lagos |
| Postgraduate | Howard University, Washington, DC (OBGYN) |
| Masters | Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University |
| PhD (Ongoing) | Gender-Based Violence, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine |
| Other Training | Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University |
| Organisation | Women At Risk International Foundation (WARIF) |
| WARIF Founded | December 2016 |
| WARIF Address | 6 Turton St, off Thorburn Avenue, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria |
| WARIF Helpline | +234 8092100009 |
| UN Role | West & Central Africa Rep, UN ACT Global Steering Committee on EVAW |
| Forbes Honour | 2024 Forbes 50 over 50 EMEA List |
| TED Talk | 2020 – The Shadow Pandemic |
Early Life and Education
Anita Kemi DaSilva-Ibru was born on June 21, 1969, in Nigeria. She showed an early aptitude for science and medicine, eventually gaining admission to the College of Medicine at the University of Lagos, where she earned her first medical degree.
She then crossed to the United States to complete her postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Howard University in Washington, DC, one of America’s most historically significant medical institutions.
Her academic ambition did not stop there. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru went on to earn a Master’s degree in Public Health from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, consistently ranked among the world’s top schools for health research and policy.
She also trained at the Lagos Business School at Pan-Atlantic University in Lagos, adding a layer of organisational and leadership thinking to her clinical background.
Today, she is pursuing a PhD in Gender-Based Violence at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. At 56, she is still in a lecture room, still building knowledge, and still demanding more of herself than most people half her age.
Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru carries a dual heritage that tells its own story. The Ibru side of her name connects her to one of Nigeria’s most distinguished family dynasties; the Ibrus are Urhobo from Olomu in Delta State, a family whose contributions to Nigerian business, media, and public life span generations.
The DaSilva surname traces a different thread, the Aguda heritage common among Lagos families of Brazilian-returnee ancestry. Between those two names sits a woman who has built her own legacy entirely independent of either.
Career: Three Decades Across Three Continents
Kemi DaSilva-Ibru’s medical career has spanned more than three decades and taken her through the healthcare systems of three continents. As a consultant specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a public health physician.
She spent years in private practice serving expectant mothers and women dealing with reproductive health challenges. Her clinical work is not a background note to her activism. It is the foundation from which everything else grew.
It was her return to Nigeria and her work in communities around Lagos that became the defining turning point. She began to meet young girls and women who had experienced sexual violence and had absolutely nowhere to go for specialist care.
She began offering her services for free in her medical capacity, but quickly recognised that the problem was far larger and far more complex than any single doctor could manage. That recognition led to something much bigger.
WARIF: The Foundation at the Heart of Everything
In December 2016, Kemi DaSilva-Ibru founded the Women At Risk International Foundation, known as WARIF. The organisation is based at 6 Turton Street, off Thorburn Avenue in Yaba, Lagos, and operates a confidential 24-hour helpline at +234 8092100009.
It has since grown into one of Nigeria’s foremost organisations addressing sexual violence, rape, and the trafficking of young girls and women.
WARIF operates through three distinct pillars. The first is Health, which includes the WARIF Rape Crisis Centre where survivors receive free post-incident medical care, counselling, and essential support services.
The second is Education, through which WARIF delivers awareness and prevention programmes in schools and communities. The third is Community Service, which involves broader engagement with families, community leaders, and institutions to shift the social and cultural norms that enable violence to continue.
“I have seen the faces of many women and girls on their first visit to the Centre, downcast as they disclose these horrific encounters. Serving is a privilege, and I find fulfilment in their healing.” — Dr Kemi DaSilva-Ibru
The statistics WARIF works with are stark. Gender-based violence affects one in four girls before the age of 18 in Nigeria. Of survivors seen at the WARIF Centre, 78% are under 18 years old, with the youngest recorded survivor below the age of two.
These are not abstract numbers. They are the daily reality that drives the work of Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru and the team she has built around her.
Professional Memberships and Business Presence
Beyond WARIF, Dr. Kemi maintains an active professional life that spans clinical medicine, public health, and institutional leadership.
She is a registered member of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the American Medical Association, the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, the Association of Public Health Physicians Nigeria, the Faculty of Public Health in the UK, and the American Public Health Association.
She is also a founding member of the Women in Healthcare Network (WIHCN), the first female healthcare network of its kind in Nigeria, and serves on the Health Committee of the Institute of Directors Nigeria.
Her reach extends into global policy through her role as West and Central Africa representative on the United Nations ACT Program Global Steering Committee on Ending Violence Against Women.
These roles collectively give her a platform that moves between bedside medicine, community activism, institutional governance, and international policy.
7 Amazing & Interesting Facts About Dr. Kemi DaSilva
1: She Trained at Three World-Class Institutions Across Two Continents
From the University of Lagos, Howard University in Washington, DC, to the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins.
Kemi DaSilva-Ibru built her academic foundation across some of the world’s most respected institutions. Few Nigerian physicians can claim training at that level across that range of schools.
2: Her 2020 TED Talk Predicted What the World Later Came to Call the Shadow Pandemic
Long before major global media picked up the term, Kemi DaSilva-Ibru delivered a TED Talk in 2020 on what she described as the shadow pandemic of gender-based violence occurring alongside COVID-19.
The talk reached a global audience and remains one of the most cited pieces of advocacy work she has produced.
3: WARIF Recorded a 64% Surge in Helpline Calls During COVID-19
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, WARIF’s confidential helpline saw a 64% increase in the volume of calls from women in distress.
That data contributed directly to Nigeria’s Federal Government declaring a National State of Emergency against Rape for the first time in the country’s history.
4: The WARIF No Tolerance March Runs Simultaneously Across Five Continents
WARIF‘s annual No Tolerance March is not just a Lagos event. It happens simultaneously in five cities across five continents: Lagos, London, New York, Sydney, and Bangkok.
For a non-profit organisation founded less than ten years ago, this kind of global coordination is a remarkable achievement.
5: She Is Currently Pursuing a PhD at 56 Years Old
While founding and running one of Nigeria’s most impactful non-profit organisations, serving as a UN regional representative, maintaining a medical practice, and collecting international awards.
Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru is still enrolled in a PhD programme in Gender-Based Violence at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has not stopped learning.
6: She Made the 2024 Forbes 50 Over 50 EMEA List
In 2024, Kemi DaSilva-Ibru was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 Europe, Middle East and Africa list.
A recognition reserved for individuals who have made their most significant contributions to their field after the age of 50. It placed her among some of the most impactful people on the continent.
7: She Is the UN Regional Voice for West & Central Africa on Ending Violence Against Women
Dr. Kemi DaSilva represents West and Central Africa on the United Nations ACT Program Global Steering Committee on Ending Violence Against Women.
This means she is not only speaking for survivors in Nigeria. She is at the table shaping the global conversation about how governments and civil society respond to violence against women across the world’s largest inhabited regions.
Awards That Tell the Story
The awards received by Kemi DaSilva-Ibru over the years serve as a public ledger of the recognition her work has earned.
WIMBIZ named her among their Top 100 Most Influential Women in 2017. Leading Ladies Africa placed her on their 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria list in 2018. She was recognised by the British Council Nigeria and named Woman of the Year in Advocacy by Her Network in 2019.
She was honoured as a CNN COVID Hero and Newsmaker in 2020, received an Award of Excellence from the National Council of Women Affairs Nigeria in 2022, and in 2023 received both the Gold Award for Thought Leader of the Year and the Silver Award from the Women Changing the World Organisation.
Final Word on Dr. Kemi DaSilva
The biography of Kemi DaSilva-Ibru is the story of a doctor who looked at a broken system and decided she had no choice but to fix part of it. She did not wait for the government.
She did not wait for a budget. She founded WARIF with a clear vision, built it on evidence, and expanded it from a Lagos crisis centre to an organisation with a global footprint.
She is currently one of the most credible and active voices in the world on gender-based violence, women’s health, and survivors’ rights. And by her own example, she makes it clear that the most important work of a life does not always happen in the first half of it.
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Chimezie Duru is a Lagos-based digital entrepreneur, affiliate marketing strategist, and blogging coach with over six years of experience building and monetizing blogs in the Nigerian digital space. He is the founder of InkRise Academy (InkRise Digital Concepts) and creator of the Ink To Income Masterclass. A 9-module blogging course for aspiring Nigerian & African writers and bloggers covering SEO, content strategy, and monetisation.
As the creator of AffiliatePlog.com, Chimezie writes from real experience on affiliate marketing, online earnings, and digital tools for Nigerian freelancers and content creators. He also works as a freelance Business and Data Analyst, bringing an analytical edge to every content and business decision.
