Dr. Ekua Agyemang named chief public health officer
Territory’s top doctor plans to heal Nunavut with trust and community engagement
Dr. Ekua Agyemang was formally appointed as Nunavut’s chief public health officer on Wednesday. She had served in the role in an acting capacity for the past 21 months. (Photo courtesy of the Government of Nunavut)
This story was updated on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. ET
Building trust is the first step toward finding a cure for many of Nunavut’s public health issues, said Dr. Ekua Agyemang, who was appointed as Nunavut’s chief public health officer on Wednesday.
“Inuit societal values remind us that leadership is all relational,” she said, in an interview on Thursday. “So — working together, showing respect, making decisions through dialogue.”
Agyemang had served as acting chief public health officer since May 2024, when her predecessor, Dr. Sean Wachtel, resigned for personal reasons.
Prior to that, Agyemang was the territory’s deputy chief public health officer, a role she held since completing her five-year medical residency at the University of Alberta in 2023.
Originally from Ghana, where she trained and worked as a general practitioner, she moved to Edmonton to pursue a master’s degree in public health in 2013.
Her team’s recent successes in Nunavut include the establishment of the territory’s first colorectal cancer screening program.
That program was established thanks to “trust, community engagement and the strength and resilience of Inuit communities,” she said.
Agyemang predicts that the incidence of advanced colorectal cancer in Nunavut may drop in coming years as a result of outreach and engagement with all 25 Nunavut communities.
She has also overseen tuberculosis prevention amid outbreaks in several hamlets, including Arviat, Pangnirtung, and Pond Inlet.
She credited local residents trained to share accurate information about tuberculosis in Inuktitut and help reduce stigma around the illness as integral to that success.
“Our health promotion approaches are based mainly on the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit principles,” she said, referring to Inuit systems of traditional knowledge.
“We’ve seen a huge difference in that approach in that the people own it and they are really eager to help promote health in their own community.”
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the year Dr. Ekua Agyemang completed her residency.
One day an Inuk will have this job. It’s too bad a non-inuk holds these types of jobs
It’s too bad you can’t appreciate the people who are here working for you. Very typical and gross attitude though.
Congratulations s Doctor, we wish you well..
One day, a doctor from
Nunavut will
qualify for this position, but In the meantime, good luck.
Congratulation Dr Ekua. May God bless you in your new role.