Ebele Ufondu grew up in southeastern Nigeria. She was in kindergarten in Onitsha when the Nigerian civil war (Biafran war) started in July 1967. Her family relocated back to Nnewi—their village of origin. She was unable to attend school during the three years of the war because of the frequent air raids in Nnewi which was also the village of origin of the leader of the defecting Biafran Republic. She started primary school at the end of the war in 1970 and graduated from high school in 1979. She enrolled in an accelerated direct medical school program at the University of Ibadan and earned a medical degree in 1986.

Ebele practiced medicine in Nigeria for two years before moving to the United States. She completed her residency at St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton New Jersey in 1994. She currently practices internal medicine in the state of New Jersey. Ebele has three children. She has remained close to her roots, taking a keen interest in the happenings in Nigeria.