Niger: Djamila Ferdjani, doctor, entrepreneur and sports leader

Djamila Ferdjani is a Nigerien doctor and entrepreneur. In addition to her commitment to health and social work, she is also very involved in the sports field. Since 2008, she has been President of the Nigerien Basketball Federation. This is a first time a woman holds this position in the sports in Niger.

Doctor, entrepreneur and sports leader, Djamila Ferdjani is a woman with many hats. For many years, she has also been campaigning for the promotion of health for poor populations and the empowerment of women.

The second child of nine boys and six girls, she was encouraged from an early age to be a mother and housewife. Determined to achieve financial independence, she committed herself to continuing her education.

After obtaining her baccalaureate in 1981, she began studying medicine at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Niamey. At the age of 19, she got married and decided to continue her studies. In 1989, she obtained her doctorate in medicine, with a prize for excellence and congratulations from the jury, thanks to a thesis on the diagnosis and management of children born with heart defects.

Three years after her graduation, she decided to become an entrepreneur and founded the ProSante polyclinic in Niamey, of which she was the President and CEO from 1992 to 2004. At the same time, she was also the Niger representative of Laborex Côte d’Ivoire, a pharmaceutical laboratory, from 1994 to 2000.

In 2002, after 12 years at the head of her polyclinic, she decided to resume her studies. She then specialised in aeronautical medicine at the University of Paris-Descartes and later obtained a university degree in health economics at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris.

Committed to public health

Having noticed the extent of health needs in Niger, especially for the poor populations, as well as the gap between her role as Director of a private clinic and the needs of the public, she decided to leave her position as CEO of the ProSante polyclinic in 2004. Her goal was to work in the field and promote public health. In 2005, she became a consultant for the Islamic Development Bank. For 7 years, she accompanied the institution in the technical studies of health projects. She also extended her involvement on the continent. From 2004 to 2015, she participated in the management and implementation of health, sport and youth integration development programs in Africa. In 2004, she also participated in the foundation of the Ouagadougou African Forum for the development of Africa.

In 2018, she created Med.com NGO with the ambition of promoting the health of poor populations and supporting women’s empowerment. She also founded the medical website Med.Africa which offers online advice and pre-consultations.

Within this framework, she carried out numerous operations, such as the voluntary vaccination program for street children in Niger, which was very active in 2015 during the meningitis epidemic.

A leader in sport

All her experiences in public health, health economics and development in Niger and Africa propelled her into the world of sports. In 2005, she was appointed Director of the Olympic Village of the Games of the Francophonie held in Niamey. In 2008, she became President of the Niger Basketball Federation, becoming the first Nigerien woman to head a national sport federation.

Based on her experience in financial institutions, she was chosen in 2012 to head the fundraising committee for the Niger national football team for its first participation in the African Nations Cup.  More recently, from 2015 to 2018, she was appointed Expert of the International Committee of the Francophonie Games held in Abidjan in 2017.

Because of her various commitments, Djamila Ferdjani was listed in 2012 in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ranking of 100 leaders in Niger. The same year, she was also elected “Nigerien Woman of the Year” by the Nigerien daily Tam Tam info. More recently, in 2021, Avance Media ranked her among the 100 most influential African women.