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Tag: Babatunde Osotimehin

  • “Nigeria requires $652m for next five years for contraceptives, others”

    ….Challenges governors to invest more in family planning

     

    Nigeria requires $652 million dollars over the next five years to invest in high-impact family planning interventions including the contraceptives, the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole has said.

    This, Adewole said would enable the country reach the set Contraceptive Prevalent Rate (CPR) 27% target set for 2020.

    He therefore challenged state governors on the need to invest more in family planning programme.

    The minister said more investment in family planning will help the country take advantage of the youthful population to achieve demographic dividend between 2030 and 2050.

    At the current annual growth rate of 3.2 percent, it is projected that Nigeria will be the 3rd most populous country in the world by 2020, with the population doubling by year 2030.

    The rapid population growth rate can be attributed mainly to the high Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 5.5 children per woman and low contraceptive prevalence rate of 15 percent based on the 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (2013 NDHS).

    He spoke at the inaugural Prof Babatunde Osotimehin Annual Memorial Lecture titled “Implication of the Population of 190 million on economic development and health/wellbeing of future generations of Nigerians” organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

    The lecture is in memory of Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, a former Health Minister is regarded as an icon and legend. Osotimehin was the Executive Director of UNFPA until his demise.

    Read Also: JOHESU had no agreement with FG – Adewole

    In his keynote address, the minister said, “The Business Case estimates the costs, impacts and financing scenarios to achieve the modern contraceptive prevalence goals and impact on development. To reach the set CPR target by 2020, Nigeria requires US$652 million dollars over the next five years to invest in high-impact family planning interventions including the contraceptives.

    “This investment would have enormous benefits: estimated US$1.40 would be saved on maternal and newborn health care for every dollar invested in family planning and another US$ 4 would be saved on treating complications of unplanned pregnancies resulting in 30,000 maternal deaths and 5.19 million unplanned pregnancies averted and cost saving of US$1.02 billion.”

    Challenging the governors and other stakeholders’ the minister stressed, “I am calling on all stakeholders, from Federal and State governments, the private sector, traditional leaders, health-care workers, Community Based Organisations and Implementing Partners, to help make the changes that would translate into positive contribution to Nigeria’s economic development and even more importantly, significantly enhance the lives of millions of women and children

    “I will continue to advocate to States to implement youth friendly services and to ensure improved investments in our youths and reduction of unnecessary maternal deaths attributable to adolescent pregnancies and unsafe abortions. These are cardinal issues that Professor Babatunde Osotimehin stood for while on this planet. We can guarantee an enduring legacy of a brighter future for all our women. girls and young ones by staying focused and on track,” he said.

    He also added, that “Nigeria is at the threshold of reaping the demographic dividend following the expected decline in dependency ratio, or the number of children and elderly (under age 15 and over age 65) divided by the number of working age adults (between ages 15-64), over this period from 83 dependents per 100 workers in 2010 to only 50 dependents per 100 workers by 2050.

    “The median age of the total population is likewise anticipated to increase from 18.6 to 28.2 years over the 40-year period from 2010 to 2050 (United Nations 2008). Yet, despite observed declining fertility, Nigeria’s population is expected to continue to grow due to population momentum.

    “There is a demographic dividend in Nigeria’s future, starting from the mid-2020s until 2050 and beyond. It is important to note, however, that the dividend is not automatic but must be carefully planned and worked out. The timing of Nigeria’s demographic dividend varies by geopolitical zone and magnitude of the demographic dividend also varies by geopolitical zone.”

    The minister who also appreciated the UNFPA for starting the lecture series to immortalize the late Osotimehin said he had worked closely with the late icon and benefited from his kindness.

    Besides, the minister said he had followed in the footstep of the former minister of Health, who he described as “an unambiguously professed pro family planning advocate.”

  • VIPs who passed on during the year

    VIPs who passed on during the year

    Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo

    Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, a former military governor of the defunct Western Region, died on Marh 8. The elder statesman and leader of Yoruba Council of Elders died in Lagos on the eve of his 89th birthday. Family sources had said he suddenly took ill at his GRA, Ikeja, Lagos residence and was taken to the hospital where he died shortly after.

    The late Adebayo was appointed the military governor of the Western Region after the death of Col. Adekunle Fajuiyi. After the civil war, he became chairman of the committee for the Reconciliation and Integration of Biafra, retiring from the army in 1975 and later joined the National Party of Nigeria as a politician.

    In 2013, he was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan as the Pro- Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. His son, Niyi Adebayo, later became the elected governor of Ekiti State.

     

    Dr. Sam Ogbemudia

    Former Military Governor of Mid-West State, which later became Bendel State, and Edo State, Dr. Sam Ogbemudia, died on March 7 after a protracted battle with high blood pressure and diabetes. Aged 84, the peculiar thing about his death was that he was buried in a grave he prepared beside his wife’s grave before he died.

    A soldier and politician, he was highly revered in Edo State. Hence, it did not come as a surprise to many when the sitting governor, Godwin Obaseki, declared a seven-day mourning period after his death was announced.

    A political colossus who left his footprints in the sands of time, Ogbemudia was also known for his peace-making efforts among his kinsmen and Nigerian politicians in general.

     

    Babatunde Osotimehin

    Former Minister of Health and Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund,  Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, was one of the prominent Nigerians that passed on during the year. He died on  June 4, 2017.

    Osotimehin died in Harrison, New York, a suburb of Manhattan, aged 68 years.

    During his days at the  United Nations Population Fund , Osotimehin held  the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and was reappointed in August 2014 until his death.

    Osotimehin’s interests were youth and gender, and he advocated for reproductive health and reproductive rights, particularly within the context of the HIV epidemic. One of his strengths was his reliance on data and evidence.

     

    Olu Adeniji

    Ambassador Olu Adeniji, a Nigerian career diplomat, a former Foreign Affairs Minister and politician who was the Special Representative of the General Secretary with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 19, 1999 to July 16, 2003, died on November 27  in London aged 83.

    Adeniji who was born on July 22, 1934 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian embassies in Washington, D.C., Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Accra, Ghana. He retired from service in 1991 after serving as the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For five years he was the Nigerian Ambassador to France.

    Beginning in early March 2008, Adeniji headed negotiations in Kenya related to that country’s political crisis, following the departure of the previous head negotiator, Kofi Annan. In addition, he served on the Commission of Eminent Persons on The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond, chaired by Ernesto Zedillo, whose report Reinforcing the Global Nuclear Order for Peace and Prosperity was launched in June 2008.

     

    Olu Adegoruwa

    Former Attorney-General of Nigeria and human rights activist, Dr. Olu Onagoruwa, died July 21.  Onagoruwa who died at the age of 80 was appointed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1993 and was further appointed as the African representative to the body that drafted Ethiopia’s constitution in that same year. He was also the Group Legal Adviser/ Company Secretary of Daily Times of Nigeria for several years.

    Onagoruwa was also the Group Legal Adviser/Company Secretary of Daily Times Nigeria for several years.

    Onagoruwa authored several books, including the Nigerian Civil War: Fundamental Human Rights and International law 1969, the Amakiri Case; Press Freedom in crisis 1978 and Law and Contemporary Nigeria Reflections 2004. Onagoruwa, who attended the Academy of American and International Law Center, USA on a full scholarship, served as a law lecturer in various Nigerian institutions, including the Nigerian Institute of Journalism.

    His core practice areas included Constitutional law, Legislative Matters, Banking and Insolvency, Oil and Gas, Telecommunication Law and litigation. He wrote several books and had to his credit over 250 published articles. Onagoruwa held a doctorate degree in Law.

     

    Alhaji Gidado Idris

    Renowned technocrat and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Gidado Idris, died in Abuja on December 16 at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

    At his death, his friends described him as a “humble, thorough and simple man who was very accessible to whoever stepped into his office as SGF.”

    Alhaji Gidado Idris hailed from Zaria in Kaduna State. He was appointed SGF in 1993 and he retired in 1999 after a civil service career that started before Nigeria’s independence. He served variously in the military and civilian governments before his retirement.

     

    Teikumo Ikoli

    The Nigerian Navy was thrown into mourning on April 5 when the Fleet Commander of the Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Daniel Ikoli, was found dead at his Apapa, Lagos residence.

    Lieutenant Commander Chinwe Umar, the spokesperson for the Western Naval Command, confirmed that gunshots were said to have been heard in the early hours of that day in the vicinity of the deceased Rear Admiral. He was later found dead in his room.

    Ikoli was the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT and was later appointed into the Presidential Committee on the probe of arms deal before he became the Fleet Commander, Western Naval Command.

    It was gathered that the naval officer had left the office in the afternoon before the fateful day, complaining that he was not feeling too well. He was also said to have nursed the fear that he could be assassinated because of his involvement in the arms deal probe.

    A suicide angle was also raised as his body was found in a pool of blood. He was aged 52.

     

    Senator Isiaka Adeleke

    The death of Senator Isiaka Adeleke, the senator representing Osun West in the National Assembly, in controversial circumstances on April 23, came as a rude shock not just to his constituents but the entire Nigerian political landscape. The sudden nature of his death shortly after he returned from a political outing had sparked a riot from his numerous supporters who felt that there was more to his death than met the eye.

    Prior to his election as a senator of the All Progressives Congress APC) in 2015, he had functioned as the first civilian governor of Osun State and the senator representing  Osun West on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party between 2007 and 2011. Before his sudden death in April, he was aspiring for the governorship seat of Osun State a second time.

    Mr Alfred Aderibigbe, the nurse accused of administering an overdose of drugs on the late senator, denied the allegation before the Coroner Inquest Panel set up by the Osun State Government.

     

    Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo

    Former Managing Director of Daily Times, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, would probably be alive but for the menace that armed robbery constitutes in the country. He fell to the bullets of armed robbers on the Ilesa–Akure Road on his way from Abeokuta to Abuja after attending the 80th birthday celebration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Adinoyi-Ojo, a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Senior Special Assistant, Public Communication, was reputed for shunning a good job with the United Nations to remain in Nigeria to work for the development of the country.

    A journalist as well as an author and playwright, he was known to have had very good relationship with his professional colleagues.

     

    Prof. Abubakar Momoh

    The Director-General of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Electoral Institute in Abuja, Prof. Abubakar Momoh, died of natural causes in his official residence in Abuja at about 9 am on May 29.

    A renowned Professor of Political Science fondly called the political whiz kid in the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University, where he lectured until his appointment as the DG of INEC Electoral Institute, his death was described by the Vice-Chancellor of the university as a huge loss that saddened the entire university community.

    Before his death, the former Vice President of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS), and National Treasurer, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) 1991-1995 had been a research fellow and lecturer in many universities around the world.

    The native of Auchi, Edo State, also served as an election observer in several African countries on behalf of ECOWAS and the African Union, as well as in some European countries.

     

    Prof. Andrew Nok

    The death of Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Andrew Nok, came as a shock to his friends and associates even though he was hospitalised for about three weeks before his death. This is because the professor, who died on November 21 at the age of 55, was thought to have recovered at the National Hospital, Abuja, where he was being treated for an unnamed sickness. Sadly, he died at a time that friends and associates expected him to return to work.

    A former university teacher, he had left the Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, following his appointment on July 29, 2015 as the Commissioner for Health and Human Services. He later became the state’s Commissioner of Education, Science Technology on May 4, 2016.

    Nok who held a master’s and doctoral degrees in Biochemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was noted to have made some revolutionary contributions to the Ministry of Health in Kaduna State while he held sway as a commissioner.

    He was a recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award in 2010 in the science category. He also won several awards and research grants, including Alexander Von Homboldt Prize in 2013 for his work in finding a cure for Trypanosomiasis.

    He was also a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Alexander Von Homboldt Foundation and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

     

     Alhaji Kabir Umar

    The Emir of Katagum Emirate in Bauchi State, Alhaji Kabir Umar, was also one of the prominent Nigerians who departed during the year after a protracted illness he battled for five years. He died at the age of 89.

    His death was announced by the state governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, who declared that the royal father was upright, just and kept the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. His death, Abubakar said, was a great loss to the state and Nigeria as a whole.

    The late emir, who was said to have been survived by 49 children, was buried at his palace in Azare.

     

    AVM Olufunsho Martins

    Retired Air Vice-Marshal Olufunsho Martins, a resident of Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, died in a lone accident together with his driver in his Ford Explorer Sports Utility Vehicle on the Third Mainland Bridge on October 28 after his car somersaulted and plunged into the lagoon.

    Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), which swung into a rescue action along with local divers, were able to recover the remains of the Air Vice Marshal and his driver from the Lagoon many hours after the incident occurred.

    AVM Martins, who was said to have just returned from the United Kingdom for a burial in Nigeria when he died, had held several appointments in the Nigerian Air Force. He was the Commandant, Rehab Oshodi and AOL HQ NAF.

    As a businessman, he owned and event centre and was also into real estate.

     

    Adebayo Faleti

    The movie industry lost one of its finest hands, Pa Adebeyo Faleti, to the cold hands of death on July 23.   Born on December 26, 1921,  Faleti was  a bundle of talent and a man of many firsts. He was Africa’s first newscaster, Africa’s first stage play director, Africa’s first film editor and librarian with the first television station in Africa (WNTV/WNBS), Nigeria’s first Yoruba presenter on Television, a Nigerian poet, journalist, writer, Nollywood films director and actor.

    He was also known as a Yoruba translator, a broadcaster, TV exponent and pioneer of the first television station in Africa, Western Nigeria Television (WNTV), now known as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

    He was responsible for translating Nigeria’s national anthem from English to Yoruba. He also translated speeches being made by Nigeria’s former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, former premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Chief Ernest Shonekan, Head of National Interim Government of Nigeria, from English to Yoruba.

     

    Senator Kanti Bello

    Two-time senator from Katsina State, Kanti Bello  died on 29 August 2017. Bello who represented Daura Senatorial Zone between 2003-2007 and 2007-2011, was the pioneer Managing Director of Katsina Steel Rolling Mill.

    He was elected senator in 2003 on the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) platform.  In the 2004 local elections in his state, he protested strongly against alleged electoral fraud which resulted in People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidates being returned. However, in 2007 he successfully ran for re-election on a PDP slate.

    In 2009, Bello was the Nigerian Amir-Hajj for the Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. He broke a record where for the first time in over 20 years, all the pilgrims left on time.

  • Amina Mohammed, UN envoys to visit Osinbajo

    Amina Mohammed, UN envoys to visit Osinbajo

    Ms Amina Mohammed, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, has begun a trip to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday, the UN has announced.

    Mohammed would be joined by the Executive Director of UN Women, Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, and the African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, Bineta Diop.

    The trip, which is being carried out in conjunction with the African Union, seeks to raise awareness on the importance of women’s participation in peace and security processes, and of ensuring that the women’s voices are heard in all aspects of society.

    The UN officials would travel to Abuja, where they would meet with the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and hear from women leaders and young women who have been affected by conflicts.

    On Friday, the Deputy Secretary-General would attend the funeral of Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, the former Executive Director of the UN Population Fund.

    The UN deputy chief would briefly be back in New York to attend a Member States’ retreat over the weekend and will then rejoin the mission in the DRC.

    This trip is the first part of a two part mission focused on women’s meaningful participation in peace, security and development.

    A similar mission would cover two further countries later in the year.

    The deputy Secretary-General is expected to be back in New York on July 28.

  • Jackals, hyenas around Buhari ’ll go, says wife

    Jackals, hyenas around Buhari ’ll go, says wife

    First Lady hints of power struggle

    President Muhammadu Buhari is getting better and will soon be back, going by his wife Aisha’s statement yesterday in London.

    The President’s wife last week travelled to London to be with her husband, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed ailment. She has also been carrying out other assignments.

    President Buhari left the country on May 7 for another round of treatment. He spent more than 50 days during his first medical vacation in London.

    On his return, he told the nation that he had never been that sick in his life adding that he underwent blood transfusion. But he did not disclose his ailment.

    On her Facebook page yesterday, Mrs Buhari, in a response to the July 6 post by Senator Shehu Sani, expressed herself in a figurative manner, using the animal imagery like the senator did.

    She wrote: “God has answered the prayers of the weaker animals. The hyenas and the jackals will soon be sent out of the kingdom.  We strongly believe in the prayers and support of the weaker animals.

    “Long live the weaker animals. Long live Nigeria.”

    Director of Press in Mrs Buhari’s office Mr. Suleiman Haruna, said yesterday that the post was on the president’s wife’s “verified Facebook page”.

    As at 10:00 pm, about 257 people had made comments on the post, most of which were wishing President Buhari quick recovery.

    Senator Sani (Kaduna Central) wrote on his Facebook page on July 6.

    “Prayer for the absent Lion King has waned; until he’s back then they will fall over each other to be on the front row of the palace temple.

    “Now the hyenas and the jackals are scheming and talking to each other in whispers; still doubting whether the Lion King will be back or not.

    “Now the Lion King is asleep and no other dare to confirm if he will wake up or not. It’s the wish of the hyenas that the Lion King never wakes or comes back so that they can be kings. It’s the prayers of the weaker animals that the Lion King comes back to save the Kingdom from the hyenas, the wolves and other predators.”

    The senator is believed to be referring to those who are scheming to become president in 2019, crisscrossing the country in moves to taking advantage of the president’s absence.

    Some people who are holding political positions are also believed to be undermining the system to position themselves in the president’s absence.

    The President’s wife also yesterday posted her photograph speaking at an event in London.

    She wrote under the photograph: “Today I attended the Babatunde Osotimehin Memorial Lecture at County Hall, London.

    “It was an honour to have spoken about his achievements at all levels and his commitment towards women and children all over the world.”

    Osotimehin was the Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and a former minister of health, who died last month.

  • World leaders remember UNFPA Director Osotimehin

    World leaders remember UNFPA Director Osotimehin

    United Nations officials, ambassadors, UN Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, friends and family members have paid tributes to late Director of UNFPA, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin.

    More than 300 people attended the memorial service at the Trusteeship Council Chambers of the United Nations Headquarters, which began with a five-minute video summarizing his life, achievements, and works in various countries recently.

      “We take pride in producing him and giving him to the world to do a work for which he gave his life,” said Dr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations.

    In one of the clips, the late Osotimehin was heard saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go with others.”

     Several dignitaries attested to the Professor’s humility and relentless work in fighting for equality, especially for women and children.

     “Osotimehin was a honorary ‘woman’ who fought for the reproductive rights of all women and the right to education for all young girls,” said the UNFPA acting Director, Natalia Kanem. She added that he was indeed a proud feminist with zero tolerance for maternity death.

     A video of his favorite hymn, ‘It Is Well with my soul’ moved several to tears. This was followed by video tributes from friends and colleagues in Nigeria, Botswana, Niger, and around the world.

     “It was a shock and painful. He was a remarkable, dedicated, and humble man,” said the Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed. She added that “He was a man that was not competing with anyone, instead, he supported everyone.”

     An award was established in memory of Osotimehin to henceforth honor those who fight for the rights of girls and women, especially for reproductive rights.

     “I worked with him for 15 years,” said his personal assistant, Pastor Niyi Ojuolape. “He was a very patient man that would bear everybody and take care of everybody. He was longsighted, a man of vision. He was also a great family man that would interrupt conversations with presidents to pick calls from his children. I miss him terribly. I can’t imagine what working would be without him,” he added.

     Dr. Babajide Osotimehin, the only son of the deceased ended the night with a vote of thanks. “To you he was a professor, but to me he’s Daddy,” he said. “Of course we’re distraught. However, tonight, you turned our sorrow to joy. You made us even more proud of him,” he added.

    Professor Osotimehin who will be buried on on July 21st in Nigeria is survived by five children and several grandchildren.

  • Babatunde Osotimehin (1949 – 2017)

    Babatunde Osotimehin (1949 – 2017)

    •A man of distinction, service and humility

    When he was reappointed as the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in August 2014, it was a statement about his significance. After a four-year term that began in January 2011, his reappointment to a position that gave him the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations was positive publicity for Nigeria. It is commendable that he played the important ambassadorial role with a sense of patriotism.

    Before he became the UNFPA chief, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, who died in the United States on June 4, aged 68, was Nigeria’s Minister of Health. This is how an account captures the highlights of his tenure between 2008 and 2010: “During his tenure, he united all 36 states to build a national health plan focused on primary health care. In a September 2009 press conference, Dr. Osotimehin said that Nigeria had yet to comply with the Abuja Declaration that 15% of the budget of each African country should be devoted to health care. Nigeria as a whole was only spending between 8% and 9%, although some states were doing much better. In October 2009, he pointed out that medical institutions were required by law to treat accident and gunshot victims. Refusal to give treatment could be punished by a jail term. In December 2009 he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eliminate poliomyelitis and other childhood killer diseases.”

    It is a reflection of Osotimehin’s professional distinction that, prior to his appointment as a minister, he was the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, an important agency in the country’s HIV/AIDS intervention programme.  As chairman of the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Osotimehin was credited with helping to develop systems that “today, manage more than US$1billion.”  His tenure as Project Manager for the World-Bank assisted HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project from 2002–2008 was seen as a success.

    Osotimehin was equipped for his path. His secondary education at Igbobi College, Lagos, between 1966 and 1971, prepared him for medical studies at the University of Ibadan. He earned a doctorate in medicine from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1979. He was Professor of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 1980; and Provost of the university’s College of Medicine (1990 -1994).

    It is noteworthy that Osotimehin played a laudable social role based on his interest in youth and gender, especially in the context of reproductive health and rights. “We need to ensure that young people of both genders have equal participation, not only in reproductive rights and health but also within society and in the economy,” he was quoted as saying to project his special focus on young people at UNFPA.

    A tribute by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo noted that Osotimehin was   ”a very remarkable international public servant, who served passionately, diligently and worked tirelessly at the global and national stages to reduce maternal mortality and promote universal access to reproductive health.”

    UNFPA said in a statement on its website: “This is a devastating loss for UNFPA and for the people, especially women, girls and youth he dedicated his life to serving, starting from when he became a doctor in Nigeria…Dr. Osotimehin was bold and never afraid of a challenge and his strong leadership helped keep the health and rights of the world’s women and girls high on the global agenda. He understood that the world’s 1.8 billion young people are truly its greatest hope for the future.”

    It is worth reflecting on how much Osotimehin achieved without noisy self-glorification. Based on his “muscular Christianity,” he preached humility, which he believed could facilitate change, “humility to engage with the other person of the other community in such a way that they know that you respect them.” He earned the respect of his country and was awarded the Nigerian national honour, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), in December 2005.

  • Nigerian community in U.S. mourns Osotimehin

    Nigerian community in U.S. mourns Osotimehin

    The Nigerian community in the U.S., Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN), has expressed sadness over the death of  Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

    Osotimehin, a former Nigerian Minister of Health, died on Sunday night in New York at the age of 68.

    OAN dedicates efforts toward enhancing the image of Nigerians in the U.S. and addressing the negative stereotypes of Nigerians in the American media.

    It has been highlighting the positive contributions of the vast majority of Nigerians to the American society since 1989.

    In a statement in New York on Wednesday, OAN President Solomon Bakare said the late UNFPA chief spent his life fighting for access to public health for women and girls across the world.

    “The president and members of Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN) were saddened by the sudden death of Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, the UNFPA Head and former Minister of Health.

    “He was a selfless and fearless leader who spent his life fighting for access to public health for women, girls and children across the globe.

    “His contribution to global public health is forever engraved in the hearts of many lives he helped to save.

    “We thank his family for sharing Dr Osotimehin with the world; and we pray that God will comfort you during this difficult time.

    “May the patriotic and humane soul of Dr Babatunde Osotimehin rest in perfect peace,” Bakare said.

    Osetimehin was also  a Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in Nigeria.

  • Ooni expresses shock over Osotimehin’s death

    Ooni expresses shock over Osotimehin’s death

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has expressed shock over the death of the Executive Director of United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA),  Prof.  Babatunde Osotimehin.

    A condolence message issued on Tuesday in Ile-Ife by Mr Moses Olafare, the Director of  Media and Public Affairs in the Ooni’s palace, described Osotimehin  as one of the greatest assets  of Africa.

    It recalled that the deceased  played host to  the Ooni  and his  delegation  on  June 13,  2016,   at his United Nation Population office in New York.

    Osotimehin   had expressly accepted the king’s request of his support and that of the United Nations to put an end to infant mortality.

    “His death is also painful because the palace and his office were already packaging some women empowerment programmes.

    “This is in  addition to what he had started with the Ooni to put an end to childbirth mortality cases not only in Yorubaland but the entire Africa.

    “He had served the world, he had served our continent, he had served our country and he had served our race too remarkably and indelibly to be forgotten.

    “May his gentle soul rest in the perfect peace of the almighty Olodumare,’’ it quoted the Ooni as saying.

    Osotimehin, a former Minister of Health,   died on Sunday in New York  at 68.

  • NMA, Saraki’s wife mourn Osotimehin

    NMA, Saraki’s wife mourn Osotimehin

    The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and wife of the Senate President, Toyin Saraki, on Tuesday described the death of Executive Director of  the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, as a monumental loss.

    NMA has also opened a condolence register for the former minister of health who died on Sunday.

    A statement signed by Prof. Mike Ogirima and Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununus, the NMA President and Secretary respectively,  said the deceased would be missed for his innovative thinking.

    The statement reads: “More importantly, the late Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin would be missed for his innovative thinking, strategic engagement and passionate delivery of his several life’s goals including protecting the rights to health of women and girls especially in family planning and population matters. Strategic planning and effective program implementation to deliver on health outcomes leading to the production and implementation of the 1st ever National Strategic Health Development Plan 2009-2015. Harmonious industrial relationships in the public health sector and improved conditions of service leading to approval and implementation of special salary systems for all health workers in 2009 and virile pro-development and non-combative medical activism.

    “In consideration of the life achievements of the great son of Africa, the Nigeria Medical Association on Tuesday April 18, 2017, honored him in a well-attended occasion in Abuja with the award of NMA GLOBAL HEALTH AMBASSADOR. His keynote address and acceptance speech clearly enunciated his vision and expectation of partnerships that make the world a better place to live through accountable and reproductive health outcomes.

    “We did not know that will be his last official engagement with NMA. We lament that his dreams of aligning UNPFA activities to the implementation of the NMA strategic plan 2017-2022 and commitment towards assisting NMA to meet the yearning aspirations of Nigerians may no longer be fulfilled.

    Saraki on her part said, “I have just learnt of the unbelievably sad news, that the global health community has lost my dear brother the Executive Director of UNFPA, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.

    “In all the time since I have known Prof. Babatunde, right from his time leading NACA, then as a health minister, and up until his term at UNFPA, I have always found him to be an indefatigably diplomatic and committed ally in our mutual goal of improving the conditions and outcomes of pregnant mothers, their newborns, children, adolescents, and their communities. This is indeed a shocking loss, and our hearts and prayers go out to the Osotimehin family, and the development family that is UNFPA. I offer my sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

     

  • PPFN mourns Osotimehin

    PPFN mourns Osotimehin

    The Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) on Tuesday joined other Nigerians and global stakeholders in mourning the death of Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.

    Osotimehin, the Executive Director of United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA), died on Sunday in New York, U.S.

    Reacting to the demise of Osotimehin, the President PPFN, Mrs Aishatu Lawan, expressed “deep sense of loss at the death’’.

    “At this sad moment we wish to commiserate with his family, UNFPA, the Government and people of Nigeria,’’ Lawan said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
    She described the deceased as “a researcher, academic, administrator and more recently an activist of women rights’’.

    The president of PPFN noted that Osotimehin has “shown commitment and determination to improve health care delivery particularly for women across the world’’.

    Lawan said that PPFN has been providing information and services in reproductive healthcare in Nigeria since 1964.

    According to her, the organisation that is a member of International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), is collaborating with UNFPA to promote sexual reproductive health and rights in the country.

    Dr Babajide Osotimehin announced in a statement on Monday that senior Osotimehin died on June 5 in New York, U.S., at the age of 68.

    Until his death, Osotimehin was a minister of health in Nigeria between Dec. 17, 2008, and March 10, 2010.

    He also served as the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (NACA) between March 2007 and December 2008, and Chairman, National Action Committee on AIDS from July 2002 to March 2007.

    He was appointed on Nov. 19, 2010, as the Executive Director of UNFPA for a four-year term and assumed the position on Jan. 1, 2011.

    He was reappointed to this position on Aug. 21, 2014, to become the organisation’s fourth executive director. He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.

    According to wikileaks, he attended Igbobi College between 1966 and 1971. After his medical studies at University of Ibadan, Osotimehin received a doctorate in medicine from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1979.

    As chairman of NACA he oversaw the development of systems that, today, manage more than US$1billion. During his tenure as Project Manager for the World-Bank assisted HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project from 2002–2008, he achieved great success.

    Osotimehin’s interests include youth and gender, within the context of reproductive health and rights. He declared that young people would be his special focus at UNFPA.

    “We need to ensure that young people of both genders have equal participation, not only in reproductive rights and health but also within society and in the economy,” he said in a 2005 article in the New York Times.

    He noted that nearly 58 per cent of Nigerians with H.I.V. are female. Many girls in Nigeria are married off before they are physically or psychologically ready, when they are as young as 13 or 14. It is not acceptable for them to ask their partners to use a condom or to refrain from sex.

    Later that year, he said that the government had ordered an increase to 250,000 of the number of HIV-positive people on Nigeria’s antiretroviral treatment programme.

    He believes humility is the key to engaging people and facilitating change, “humility to engage with the other person of the other community in such a way that they know that you respect them’’. He also appreciated cultural sensitivity and understanding as vital tools in driving his goals.

    He is survived by a wife, five children and three grandchildren.

    Besides, Osotimehin held various positions, including: African Spokesperson, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Minister of Health, Nigeria, December 2008 – March 2010.

    Other responsibilities were Project Manager, HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project (World Bank-Assisted), 2002–2008; Chairman, Project Governing Board, Joint Regional HIV/AIDS Project in the Abidjan–Lagos Transport Corridor, 2003–2008, and Vice-President, 14th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), 2005

    He was also the Chairman, Committee of Presidential Advisers of AIDS Watch Africa; Member, Policy and Strategy Committee, The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Member, Global Steering Committee on Universal Access.

    Similarly, Osotimehin was the Coordinator, the Social Sciences and Reproductive Health Research Network, Ibadan, Nigeria (an interdisciplinary network comprising sociologists, economists, doctors, lawyers, psychologists and human nutritionists dedicated to applying innovative research techniques to reproductive health and human development), and Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 1990–1994. Professor of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 1980.

    As Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osotimehin united all 36 states to build a national health plan focused on primary health care.

    In a September 2009 press conference, he said that Nigeria had yet to comply with the Abuja Declaration that 15 per cent of the budget of each African country should be devoted to health care. Nigeria as a whole was only spending between eight per cent and nine per cent, although some states were doing much better.

    In October 2009, he pointed out that medical institutions were required by law to treat accident and gunshot victims. Refusal to give treatment could be punished by a jail term. In December 2009, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eliminate poliomyelitis and other childhood killer diseases.
    Until his death, Osotimehin was a member or affiliate of the following: Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK); Fellow in Endocrinology, Cornell University Graduate School of Medicine, New York, United States, 1979–1980; Distinguished Visitor, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, United States, 1996; Visiting Fellow, Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, 1996–1997.

    He was a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences since 2006; Population Association of America International Advisory Group, Population and Reproductive Health, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago; Regional Advisory Panel (Africa and the Middle East), Special Programme on Research and Research Training in the Human Reproduction Programme of the World Health Organisation.

    Similarly, the deceased served in the following capacities: Chairman of the Committee to draft a Policy on Basic Health Sciences Research and Health Technology Delivery for the Nigerian Government; Nigerian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism The Nigerian Medical Association; and The Nigerian Institute of Management.
    Osotimehin bagged the Nigerian national honour, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), December 2005, during his lifetime.

    He has written or contributed to many papers and several books; including: N. C. den Boer, ed. (1989) “Clinical Biochemistry Services in Tropical Africa”, and Clinical chemistry: an overview. Springer. ISBN 0-306-43093-2.

    Olayiwola A. Erinosho; Babatunde Osotimehin; Janice E. Olawoye (1996). Women’s empowerment and reproductive health. Bookcraft Ltd., for Social Sciences and Reproductive Health Research Network. ISBN 978-2030-14-7.

    Babatunde Osotimehin (1999) Male responsibility in reproductive health: the construction of manhood in Nigeria: phase I, and The Social Science and Reproductive Health Research Network. ISBN 978-028-569-5.

    David Celentano, Chris Beyrer (2008). “12: Nigeria and West Africa”. Public Health Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Low and Middle Income Countries: Epidemiology, Prevention and Care. Springer. ISBN 0-387-72710-8.

    Babatunde Osotimehin (2008). The control of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: the journey so far (WHARC).