NAPPSA congratulates our President Emerita, Dr. Teresa Isichei Pounds, PharmD, BCNSP, FPCPharm, on receiving the 4th Edition National Diaspora Merit Award from the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM). The award was presented on July 25, 2026 at the National Diaspora Merit Award & Dinner Night in Abuja, held as part of National Diaspora Day 2026.
Dr. Pounds’s award certificate, signed by Hon. Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, OON, Chairman/CEO of NiDCOM, recognizes her “selfless service and contributions as a Nigerian in Diaspora in the field of Education,” citing her “unflinching love and contributions to National Development.”
Dr. Pounds served as NAPPSA’s sixth president from 2021 to 2023 and remains a NAPPSA Fellow and President Emerita. She is the Founder and President of the West African Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (WASPEN), a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of malnutrition in Nigeria and beyond, and has held academic leadership roles including Clinical Assistant Dean for Clinical Pharmacy Education at South University. Her career has spanned clinical pharmacy practice, residency program development, and decades of advocacy for pharmacy education both in the United States and in Nigeria.
The 2026 ceremony’s theme, “Harnessing Global Diaspora Medical Expertise to Strengthen Local Health Systems for National Development,” reflects the same mission Dr. Pounds has championed throughout her NAPPSA leadership and her work training the next generation of pharmacists.
Dr. Pounds joins a small group of Nigerian pharmacy leaders NIDCOM has recognized through this program since its 2023 launch, including Professor Adeboye Adejare, honored for pharmaceutical science and healthcare contributions at the 2024 ceremony. Her recognition in the Education category underscores a pattern in these awards: NIDCOM has repeatedly singled out pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists in the diaspora as models of the kind of knowledge transfer the commission is trying to encourage between Nigeria and its diaspora professionals, a mission closely aligned with NAPPSA’s own founding purpose.
Congratulations, Dr. Pounds, on this well-earned national honor. NAPPSA is proud to call you our own.
Learn more about NIDCOM’s National Diaspora Merit Award program →