Professor Rich Enujioke Umeh is a Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Nigeria.  She is the immediate past Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus and presently the Director of the Global Health Initiative at the University of Nigeria. She is also the Chairman, Health Research Ethics Committee of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital and member, National Health Research Ethics Committee. Professor Umeh is an Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, a position she has held since 1988.

Previously, she worked for one year (NYSC) as a Medical Officer for the Ministry of Health, Anambra State. Professor Umeh's employment history also includes work as Ophthalmic Senior House Officer at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu; Senior House Officer in Ophthalmology at Singleton Hospital, Swansea, South Wales, United Kingdom; Registrar and Senior Registrar at UNTH, Enugu and Senior Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria. Some of her research work, as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator, includes a study titled Enugu Ivermectin trial follow-up with study of rapid Ivermectin benefit to apparently irreversible optic nerve damage, which was sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO/TDR); the rapid monitoring of Ivermectin Distribution in Benue State and Enugu State also sponsored by WHO/TDR tools for Mectizan distribution. In addition, as Co-investigator, her research also entailed the study of Community Self-treatment with Ivermectin for the control of onchocerciasis in Nigeria.

She was the Project Ophthalmologist during the Suramin trials for the treatment of Onchocerciasis in Enugu and the Nigerian Principal investigator in the study titled The Rapid immune response to the treatment of onchocercal eye and skin disease in a hyper-endemic rural community of Enugu State. Professor Umeh was also the Enugu Site Principal investigator of The Multi-Country study on implementation of Community-Directed Treatment of Onchocerciasis with Ivermectin, a two-year project which lasted from December 1997 to 1999 and was sponsored by the WHO/TDR, Geneva. This work birthed the Community Directed Treatment (CDT) strategy which has now become the accepted strategy integrated into the Primary Health Care programme for community drug distribution for other tropical diseases. Professor Umeh also did a study titled Community Women's Organization for the Control of Onchocerciasis and Blindness in Oji River LGA, sponsored by The British Council for Prevention of Blindness (BCPB). She has also been involved as Principal Investigator in three major malarial studies namely, A multi-centre study on Chloproguanil-Dapsone-Artesunate – a Phase III clinical trial sponsored by WHO/GSK; a Multi-country study on early and appropriate treatment of childhood fevers in Nigeria sponsored by WHO/TDR; and GSK/PATH MVI-sponsored Phase III malaria vaccine trial.  

Professor Rich Enujioke UMEH holds an M.B., B.Ch. from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (College of Medicine, Enugu Campus) and a M.Sc(CEH) from the Institute of Ophthalmology, University of London, Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria as well as Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons.