Welcome to Journal of Physical Health and Sports Medicine

Prof. Jacinta A.Opara

Affiliation :
University of Maiduguri,Nigeria

Biography :

Born in February 1976 in Southern Nigeria, Professor Jacinta A. Opara, a leading international environmental scholar, scientist, educator, health researcher, consultant and development activist with the combined power of management and human rights is a Visiting Scholar of Gender and Environmental Security at International Institute of Sociology of Law, Onati-Spain. Professor Opara began her career as a Science Teacher(Biology) at College of the Immaculate Conception(CIC), Enugu-Nigeria under National Youths Service scheme(NYSC). Since the 1990s, Professor Opara has held teaching, research and consulting experiences across Africa, America, Europe and Asia. She held teaching and research appointments as a full ranked Professor of Environmental Health and Director, Centre for Sustainability Studies at Kampala International University(KIU); an Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Environmental Education at the Universidad Azteca, Chalco-Mexico; briefly as Professor and Chair of Environmental Management and Toxicology at Elizade University, Ilara Mokin, Ondo State, Nigeria. She has been an Academic Member (Visiting Professor), Department of Environmental Sciences at Athens Institute for Education and Research, Athens-Greece and has held other academic positions such as Professor of Biology, Department of Science Education at Federal University, Kashere-Gombe State, Nigeria; Visiting Professor of Biodiversity and Sustainability at Department of Environmental Studies, Laikipia University, Nyahururu-Kenya; Visiting Professor of Population Education at Department of Science Education, Sule Lamido University(formerly Jigawa State University),Kafin Hausa, Nigeria; Visiting Professor of Ecology at Department of Biology, Kwararafa University, Wukari-Taraba State, Nigeria; and as Senior Research Fellow(Postdoctoral) in Environmental Education under the European Commission at Universidad de Granada, Granada-Spain(sabbatical) amongst others. Professor Opara is Chairman of Governing Council of the Institute of Policy Management Development; President of African Association for Teaching and Learning; Founder of Youth for Christ Foundation; founding Co-Executive Director, Center for Environment and Community Development; founding President, Association of Women in Education and serves on the Board/Governing Council of Mediterranean Center for Social and Educational Research, Rome-Italy; Development Africa Consortium amongst other institutions and agencies including non-governmental organizations (NGOs). She is a Fellow of Institute of Management Consultants; Fellow of African Scientific Institute; Fellow of the Institute of Policy Management Development; Fellow of the Board of Quality Standards; Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professionals and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Administration. Over the years she has taught several courses and successfully supervised many ground-breaking theses at undergraduate, Masters, and PhD levels. Professor Opara has worked on a number of international projects, partnership initiatives and human capacity-building programmes with a wide range of stakeholders including several international conferences, seminars and workshops. She coordinated the Publication Project of the Nigeria´s 50 Years Anniversary. She is founding Editor in Chief of Journal of Health and Environmental Studies; Editor in Chief of International Journal of Scientific Research in Education; Editor of African Journal of Environmental Studies; Journal of Women Studies and Research and serves on the Editorial Board of over 50 international journals including ScienceRise(Ukraine); GeoTropico(Columbia), MJSS(Italy) and TechnoLearn(India). She has received several awards, fellowships and grants including the Erasmus Mundus of the European Commission, Brussels-Belgium and the prestigious IATEL Award for Academic Excellence in 2015.She maintains consulting status with several local and international agencies in the areas of environment, health, gender, human rights, peace and security, sexuality, education and community development. Professor Opara is a member of several academic and professional bodies amongst them include the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law(CEL); IUCN Commission on Environmental Education(CEC);Association of Women in Development(AWID); Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria(TRCN); Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World(OWSD); International Association for Scientific Knowledge (IASK);African Network on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements (ANEW);Research Committee of Sociology of Law; International Action Network on Small Arms(IANSA); International Association for the Study of the Commons(IASC) and African Society for the Scientific Research (ASSR).She is a Fellow of the African Sexuality Leadership Development funded by Ford Foundation and a Delegate/Resource Person/Consultant of the 2008 UN World Women´s Day of the Women International League on Peace and Freedom(WILPF),Geneva-Switzerland; United Nations PANAFCON Summit on Water, Sanitation and Human Settlement, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia; 2004 UN World Habitat Day(UNHABITAT), Nairobi-Kenya; UNU-EHS Project on Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability, Bonn-Germany; UNU-WIDER Project on Country Role Models, Helsinki-Finland and the 2008 Women`s World in Madrid-Spain. Professor Opara speaks two international languages(English and Spanish) and visited over 30 countries. She has over 200 publications and is married with five(5) children.

Research Interest :