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Remembering Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
By
Friday Okonofua
culled from GUARDIAN, May 29,
2006
Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, a
Nigerian nationalist, social reformer and international reproductive health
advocate died on June 1, 2003. At the time of his death, he was by common
consensus the longest serving Minister of Health of Nigeria, a celebrated
upright leader and the principal architect of the major achievements
recorded by Nigeria in the field of health in the 1990s. He was the
originator and apostle of the doctrine of primary health care in Nigeria,
the prime mover behind the highly successful breastfeeding campaign in
Nigeria by UNICEF and a prominent spokesperson for equity, human rights and
social justice in the implementation of Nigeria's health care delivery
system. He was a man who led by example and who believed in the principle of
a leader serving his/her people rather than being served, and a man of
impeccable character and integrity.
Two incidents in particular
demonstrate the resolve and veracity with which Professor Ransome-Kuti
conducted his life. As a young House Physician in Lagos in 1955, he
visited the morgue of the General Hospital where his father died. There,
he encountered the bodies of infants who had died from preventable and
treatable diseases such as malaria and meningitis. That very day, he
resolved to devote his professional life to paediatrics. In 1957 he
joined the Department of Paediatrics of the University College Hospital
in pursuance of this goal.
The second incident came
over 40 years later, when Professor Ransome-Kuti revealed that his
brother, legendary Afro beat musician Fela, died of AIDS-related
illnesses. The year was 1997, when many in sub-Saharan Africa - Fela
included - continued to deny the very existence of the
rapidly-spreading virus. Professor Ransome-Kuti had acknowledged the
presence of HIV and AIDS in Nigeria since 1986, but his openness
regarding his own brother's death brought many in Nigeria to wider
realisation of the true impact of the disease. Professor Olikoye
Ransome-Kuti was born into the Jibolu-Taiwo family of Egbaland, Ogun
State of Nigeria on September 30, 1927. He attended the University
College Ibadan as one of the first set of medical students in the
indigenous University. He completed his medical education and
training in Ireland and the United Kingdom before taking up his
position as a House Physician at the General Hospital, Lagos in late
1954.
After his formative
visit to the General Hospital morgue, he received further
education and training in paediatrics in Nigeria and the United
Kingdom. Early in his career as a paediatrician and professor,
he held posts as Senior Registrar in Paediatrics at the
University College Hospital, Ibadan and in the Department of
Paediatrics of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. His
work in Nigeria made him keenly aware of the inadequacies of a
health care system focused on curative care, rather than
preventative medicine.
Between 1968 and
1976, Professor Ransome-Kuti directed the Institute of Child
Health of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. It
was in this post that he received the opportunities to put
to action his beliefs in prevention and community health.
His development of successful community-based child health
and family planning programs proved to be a turning point in
his career. He was appointed the first Director of the
Nigerian National Services Scheme Implementation Agency, a
post in which he coordinated the deployment of young Corps
Doctors to remote rural areas throughout Nigeria.
Professor
Ransome-Kuti was appointed Minister of Health in 1985.
As Minister, he provided a foothold for the
institutionalization of primary health care in Nigeria,
acting as an advocate, implementer and a key policy
proponent on all aspects of primary health care. He
built several primary health care centres across the
country and mobilized resources both internally and
externally for the development of primary health care in
Nigeria. He served longer than any other Minister of
Health, and distinguished himself by his humility,
transparency, honesty, patriotism, dedication to duty
and punctuality.
After his
tenure in the Ministry, Professor Ransome-Kuti's
work reached the international stage. In 1994, he
went to Washington DC to work for the World Bank,
where he chaired the Better Health for Africa Panel,
a position where he was able to expand the concept
of primary health care to other parts of Africa.
Indeed, he produced a blueprint for adopting primary
health for all of Africa, and for sustaining health
care in Africa for years to come. At the onset of
the new democratic governance in the country in
1999, President Obasanjo was desirous of
resuscitating the concept of primary health care as
the bedrock of Nigeria's health care delivery
system. He could think of no one else to do this
other than Professor Olikoye-Ransome-Kuti.
Consequently, he was appointed the Chairman of the
National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA)
a post he held until he died.
The
scope of Professor Ransome-Kuti's actions
signifies his deep commitment to primary care in
areas of health most critical to Sub-Saharan
Africa: He ensured exclusive use of
breastfeeding in Nigerian hospitals, made
compulsory the recording of maternal deaths,
fought for the interests of pregnant women, and
pioneered effective HIV and AIDS campaign in the
early years of the disease. He received numerous
awards and accolades, published widely,
consulted on health issues internationally, and
sat on the boards of many non-profit
organizations tackling difficult and neglected
issues. His commitment to his work and his
country cannot be understated. He was married to
the gentle and amiable Miss Sonia Adetoro
Doherty, with whom he travelled widely. They had
three children, Dotun (1961), Gboyega (1962),
and Bisoye (1964). He was a lovely and doting
father, husband and family man.
In sum, Professor Ransome-Kuti was a genius
at his time, a man with a tall vision who
lived ahead of his time, a veritable role
model and an example in self-discipline,
honesty and transparency. He did more than
any of his kind to promote the principles of
primary health care and disease prevention
in his life time, and he was a strong
advocate for sexual and reproductive health
and rights, gender equality and social
justice. To remember and sustain the
legacies of Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
in health care delivery, the Women's Health
and Action Research Centre (WHARC), a
Nigerian NGO has created the Professor
Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Policy and Leadership
Development Programme (RPLD), with funding
from the Ford Foundation. The RPLD Programme
was created to honour Professor Ransome-Kuti
by focusing on policy and leadership
development in sub-Saharan African health
care. Specifically, the RPLD Programme's
interests lie in facilitating progress in
areas of primary health care, safe
motherhood, child survival and HIV and AIDS.
While it is true that no one will fill
Professor Ransome-Kuti's shoes, we hope to
continue along the path he pioneered by
promoting responsible policy and encouraging
passionate leadership in Nigeria.
The objectives of the RPLD Programme are
as follows:
To create public awareness and
understanding about public health
issues relating to primary health
care, safe motherhood, child
survival and HIV and AIDS throughout
sub-Saharan Africa
To stimulate public health
thinking and policy development
in Africa around issues relating
to the aforementioned areas of
interest in accordance with the
policy framework developed by
Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
in his lifetime
To build and sustain the
right kinds of leadership
for implementing these
programmes in Africa,
similar to those exemplified
in the life and times of
Professor Olikoye
Ransome-Kuti
To celebrate the life of
Professor Ransome-Kuti
and present it as a
model for policy
development and capacity
building on sexual and
reproductive health in
Africa
Professor
Okonofua is
Executive
Director,
Women's Health
and Action
Research Centre
and Provost,
College of
Medical
Sciences,
University of
Benin, Benin
City
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