Francis Ohanyido

From NigerianWiki

Born after the Nigerian -Biafran Civil War (March 4, 1970) of Ufuma heritage is probably one of Nigeria's remarkable figures of his generation. He has carved a niche for himself as multi-layered intellectual (Poet, Essayist, Painter, Scientist) and Social Advocate.

Description

• • Born 4 March 1970 (age 39)
  • Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria
  • Occupation Author ,Physician
  • Nationality Nigerian
  • Notable award(s) St. Piran’s Prize in Poetry, Jos -1996

[edit] Biography

Francis obtained his first degree in Medicine & Surgery (MB, BS) from University of Jos in Nigeria. He continued with post-graduate trainings at Imo State University and Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria) in Health service administration and Public health respectively. Later as a continuing education alumnus of Harvard Medical School, he studied fundamentals of HIV management for the primary care provider. He also had opportunity to study health planning with the American University of Armenia. He is notable for having helped to develop the concept of Rights-Based Approach to healthcare delivery in Nigerian medical circles.

Through a seminal essay in 2002 on his thoughts on governance and electoral processes in Nigeria, he had the Opportunity of working on health-related legislative policies as Legislative intern and Advisor with Senate Committee on Health under a tripartite partnership involving the National Assembly of Nigeria (NAss), Constitutional Rights Project (CRP) and National Democratic Institute of America for International Affairs (NDI). This was a part strategic institutional capacity building framework to support Nigeria's most recent attempt at a sustainable democracy. Most of his works were on health policies & laws as well as gender analysis. His position offered him an advocacy platform to engage lawmakers in the upper and lower chambers (Senate and House of Representatives) to highlight the problems around reproductive health and need to fast-track all laws relating to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). His effort was noted with a letter of commendation by the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria. He has been a strong advocate for the exploration of the local and global potentials of Public-Private Partnerships for Health , commonly referred to as PPP or PPPH. He has advocated for these partnerships as a paradigm shift for low-resource settings like his home nation Nigeria with a rapidly growing population and increasingly poor health indices. He felt that governments at all levels, needed to as a matter of urgency , develop platforms with the private sector so as to leverage capacities externally and internally to face the challenges of meeting up with the MDGs.

[edit] Technology Sans Frontières

In 2003, as a result of the strong need to bridge the digital divide in healthcare in low-income settings like his home nation, coupled with his studies in computer applications in healthcare in University of Jos (CCA), he set up the web-based Nigerian Telemedicine Development Alliance (NTDA). This body was to serve as a fulcrum for online outreach and advocacy for telemedicine infrastructure in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. He has theorised on models for the possible cost-effective delivery of Telemedicine in Nigeria. This singular effort by NTDA and other associates led to the development of strong interest on the part of the Federal Government of Nigeria to consider further studies and possible approaches to deployment of e-Health structures.He is presently a board member and Deputy Secretary General of the Society for telemedicine and eHealth in Nigeria (SFTeHIN). He has advocated to Nigeria and other countries in the low resource bracket to start thinking strategically ahead on smart investments in basic information and communications technologies (ICTs) to support their educational and health systems which can lead to a turnaround in global capacity to help solve mankind’s growing problems. The gates to this, he has suggested, will be by providing basic educational opportunities for all children and setting up efficient systems to keep track of learning trends and adaptively working to create a kind of flexible learning framework and knowledge management structure as part of a wider e-learning strategy. This will be able to ride on a system that allows research to inform policy.

[edit] Global Health

In the course of his work in international health, he has at various times collaborated or worked on platforms/ projects in the sector with WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, UNIFEM, USAID, WB, OXFAM, GCAP, and many other international organisations. Most recently, he occupies a strategic advocacy position in Nigerian public health as the Special Advisor to the 36,000 member strong Nigerian Medical Association [1] in the development sector. This is combined with his job as the Project Support Manager under the aegis of Community Participation for Action in the Social Sectors (COMPASS), a USAID- funded integrated project . By 2009, COMPASS goal is to have improved the health and education status of several million Nigerians in communities spread across four states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory. Alongside the management and technical team, he has been working to ensure that the project develops best -practices for Nigeria to scale up.

In 2007 , he was one of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) group delegates to the 2nd Nigeria in Diaspora Day and 3rd Science and Technology Conference where he made technical inputs in health on the issues and possible solutions ,such as integrated maternal newborn and child health (IMNCH) strategy. He is a member of the Core Technical Committee working with the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) of Nigeria with guidance from World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement the program. He has also been a member of the National Malaria in Pregnancy Working Group (MIPWG) under the FMoH and the global working group under WHO, as well as a delegate to the National malaria Control Programme Review Committee (NMCPRC).

Further more, he was also a COMPASS/NMA technical delegate to the stakeholders summit in Nigerian medical sector for the development of a national framework and modality for implementation of a Continuous Medical Examination (CME)/ Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

[edit] Afriquest Initiative and the Neo-African Renaissance

In the early years back in 1990, he convened what is now referred to as the Afriquest Initiative towards neo-African renaissance in Jos, Nigeria. It was a watershed in the Nigerian art sphere that gave rise to the concept of Afrisecaism. [2] Ohanyido’s writings, often classified as Afrisecal Movement draw on basic African experience including myths and traditions with contemporary ideograms. He is widely published in electronic and print media; Clankind (2005); and Memories of Aidi (all collections of poems. Among Essays include A Vision without measure; A Neo-African Renaissance (2004) and Dearth of Honour (2006) and over forty other essays on health, politics, history, religion and philosophy. His path as a renown Nigerian poet and writer [3] was further highlighted when as an undergraduate medical student, he had been voted the Poet Laureate of St. pirans' national Youth week in 1996 for his poem 'Be Alert'. [4] He is presently the chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Kaduna Chapter as well as the Vice-Chairman of Kaduna Writers' League (KWL), Kaduna. [5]

[edit] Advocating for Social Change

An outspoken critic of Nigerian Juntas, he had several encounters with the security apparatchiks of the late Sani Abacha, as a student activist. His Rights-focused advocacy has also been seen in his being part of notable coaliations such as Liberating the African Mind (LAM)'s European Airlines' Maltreatment of Africans Must Stop Campaign. More recently, in which he was a core signatory alongside Mary Robinson, Desmond Tutu, and other notables like Noam Chomsky for the GCAP/Whiteband/OXFAM Keep your promises to end poverty ! petition to G8 Ministers in 2007. In March 2009, following national outcry on the Presidential White Paper's failure to accept some of the key recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), Dr. Ohanyido was one of the Nigerians that were invited by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems(IFES), International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI)to participate in a National Dialogue on Electoral Reform.

[edit] Affiliations

Dr Ohanyido is affiliated to several International professional and civic organisations . He is the current President of International Public Health Forum (IPHF). Other notable bodies include the Science Advisory Board(SAB), Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP), Nigerian Institute of Management and International AIDS Economic Network (IAEN), amongst others.

[edit] Fellowships

•Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene •International Public Health Forum •Royal Society of Public Health

[edit] Trivia

Dr. Francis Ohanyido is the son of Nna Damian Sunday Okoli one of the notable Igbo community elders of Jos city. He is also the brother of Nigerian ICT expert Chinedu Ohanyido and married to Ecologist and popular fashion Icon Paula Ohanyido.

[edit] Biographic Loci

Three great loci can be isolated in intricately woven threads in the biography of Ohanyido;

• The Intellectual
• The Advocate
• The Artist

[edit] References