This week I sit down with Ekua Yankah, founder of Awodee, a social epidemiologist who left a long career in the UN system, learned the power of big period data at Berlin's Clue, and is now building the research infrastructure to cure endometriosis, fibroids, and PCOS, conditions affecting over 170 million women worldwide.
Ekua’s founder story starts with a diagnosis. Her doctors found a 9cm, baseball-sized ovarian cyst at 23 years old, then found more than 10 fibroids, and recommended surgery at 39. She navigated symptom-free menopause with tai chi, qigong, and acupuncture (her experience, not a prescription). Through this experience she learned the harsh realities of the medical system and the gaps in women’s health. Like why insurers file these conditions under "fertility" or "pre-existing" and refuse to pay.
Her company Awodee's is focused on research-ready data collection with partners like Nigeria's Fertitude, women as co-creators, starting with a self-funded 200-woman study in Kenya.
We also discuss Lupita Nyong'o's 75 fibroids, the "Period Insurance" dream, and the first-day-of-your-cycle leave policy at Awodee.
Watch & listen to the whole episode on 🔴YouTube 🟢 Spotify, 🟣 Apple Podcasts, 🟠 Substack Podcasts
Timestamps00:00 Teaser: a 20-year mission to cure fibroids00:49 Welcome: Nina's first in-person interview, meet Ekua and Awodee01:50 From the UN system to FemTech at Clue03:23 Ekua's story: a 9 cm cyst at 23, 10+ fibroids, surgery at 3906:08 The "Period Insurance" dream: six-month data check-ins08:07 Why insurance calls it "fertility" and won't pay11:07 The Big Three decoded: endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS13:56 Lupita Nyong'o's 75 fibroids and going public15:33 You are the expert on your own body18:18 Funding gaps, environmental factors, and unequal care20:39 Awodee's model: research-ready data, women as co-creators23:04 Not an app: partnering with Fertitude and existing trackers26:10 The womb as ancestral technology: Daoism meets longevity28:41 Ekua's routine: TCM, qigong, and a symptom-free menopause32:13 The self-funded 200-woman pilot study in Kenya37:36 Where to start if you suspect endo, PCOS, or fibroids41:31 Rapid-fire: qigong, funding blind spots, harmful myths43:51 First-day-of-cycle leave: working with your cycle45:53 How to find Ekua and what's next for Awodee
RESOURCES
Clue - Period Tracking App - https://helloclue.com
Endometriosis Society of Kenya - https://www.facebook.com/Endometriosiskenya/
Lupita Nyong'o Fibroids Campaign - https://www.foundationwomenshealth.org/lupita
Traditional Chinese Medicine - Ovarian Breathing - https://example.com/ovarian-breathing
ABOUT DR. EKUA YANKAH:
Social epidemiologist with a PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and 15 years at UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO. Founder of Awodee, a frontier health research platform closing the data gap on African women's health. Her personal longevity journey through Tai Chi, Yoga and Traditional Medicine runs alongside her epidemiological work, making her a rare bridge between ancestral practice and global health science.
CONNECT WITH EKUA:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/africanwomenshealth/
ABOUT NINA'S NOTES:
Nina's Notes explores the intersection of longevity science, neuroscience, and human optimization. Hosted by Nina Patrick, PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and longevity researcher, each episode translates cutting-edge research into actionable insights for living longer, better.
CONNECT WITH NINA'S NOTES
Newsletter:https://www.ninasnotes.xyz
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninapatrick/
Website:https://www.ninapatrick.xyz
