99 quotes found
"Had the first Covid-19 virus, the one first identified in China last year, originated in Africa it is clear the world would have locked us away and thrown away the key, there would have been no urgency to develop vaccines because we would have been expendable. Africa would have become known as the continent of Covid-19. What is going on is inevitable and is a result of the world’s failure to vaccinate in an equitable, urgent, and speedy manner."
"We knew this was a crossroads it was going to bring us to. It was going to bring us to a variant. It was going to bring us to more dangerous variants."
"Why are we acting surprised? Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents? Nobody is locking away Belgium and Israel. Why are we locking away Africa? It is wrong and it is time our African leaders stand up and find their voice."
"When I learned that more than 30,000 women in California had joined, and that only 48 Black women in California—or African American women—had joined, that's when I said to Laura [Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, co-investigator and professor at UCSF], “This is unacceptable. You have to come to Chicago, and then we have to open this up nationwide so that an and then we have to open this up nationwide so that any woman who is going to get a mammogram can join.” For me, what I wanted to do is to bring it to the South Side of Chicago in a predominantly African American community, and we wanted to make sure that everyone in our community has a chance to join WISDOM if they wish to. We have found that when you ask women to participate, and they learn about the study, they sign up. And that's what I have learned since 2016. And the reason why women don't sign up for studies is because we didn't ask them, or we didn't make it easy for them to join. So I'm really looking forward to finding out with 100,000 women what's the safest and best factors to use to screen for breast cancer."
"One of the things that our hospital is doing is engaging community health workers and engaging community participants to participate in what I call population risk and health management that no health system can afford to spend so much money waiting for patients to get sick, and then bring them into the hospital. We have got to be in the community. I'm hoping that what we are going to be doing as part of our rollout in our comprehensive cancer center is to work with our hospital, to work with Brenda Battle. Brenda Battle is [now the senior vice president, Community Health Transformation, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at UChicago Medicine]. She is part of a specialized program of research excellence in breast cancer health disparities."
"There have been very few studies of women across different populations, so that’s why everyone has focused on my work,. But there are women all over the world Indian women, Hispanic women who develop triple-negative breast cancer, and most of these women didn’t know they were at risk for it."
"These cancers may be more common among African-American women, but our discovery was really that there are genetic risk factors for breast cancer in all populations."
"To develop a personalized way to identify every woman at high risk, whether African-American or Jewish or Italian or Ukrainian, so that they could go in and have their doctor develop a personalized approach for them."
"Right now, most women in the world are diagnosed with breast cancer at an advanced stage."
"We need to accelerate prevention that can be adopted in low-resource settings or adopted in this country as a way to help low-income women care for themselves."
"The hope for precision medicine is to have the right drug for the right person at the right time,"
"Triple-negative breast cancer is not the majority of breast cancer. But if we have drugs that can target the genetic abnormalities in these tumors, and we are able to rapidly conduct global clinical trials, not only can we get studies done quickly, but we can also make it possible for women all over the world to participate in the cures of tomorrow."
"The more compelling horror stories I heard from my patients."
"The more compelled I became to figure it out."
"We're going to assemble a group from totally different environments to see what might be the common thread."
"People in Africa have been understudied, and even African-Americans in this country have been understudied."
"We’ve been very interested in familial breast cancer and the contribution of genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2 that predispose families to breast cancer. We’re very interested in looking at the genetic basis of breast cancer in young women. As a result of that investigation, we’re hoping to develop better tools and better methods to manage triple-negative breast cancer, because that’s what we see to be over-represented in young African American women and women with BRCA1 mutations."
"medical school in Nigeria, we were always taught that prevention was better than a cure."
"Instead of waiting for the patients to be diagnosed with cancer, I am increasingly passionate about trying to prevent it."
"I thought that if I committed myself to identifying risk factors and then to determining how to lower individual risk, then that would really be a lifelong pursuit."
"By disseminating such information in front of the community of oncologists, we were given the opportunity to change practice"
"Ten years later we actually have done that people are increasingly doing risk assessment in their practices, they are counseling women about their familial risk, and they are offering interventions that have been lifesaving for many women from high-risk families.”"
"Tumors that are estrogen-receptor positive depend on estrogen to grow."
"The estrogen receptor negative tumors are estrogen independent."
"To kill them you have to use chemotherapy, which has all the side effects and may not always work."
"Palliative care was just as crucial component of healthcare delivery as preventive, curative and rehabilitation aspects of medical care and advocated for greater its inclusion in health policies and guidelines"
"No, no – it certainly wasn’t planned. I was so surprised that I even came out with it, because I don’t normally talk about my son in public, in large groups. But we had earlier on been talking informally about family before the meeting, and you know how it goes – oh you look younger than your age, do you have kids, how many girls, how many boys, and where are they now."
"At the meeting, I listened to the way people were arguing, talking about the importance of water, electricity, infrastructure – because they had worked in Africa or other low-resource countries. And they were trying to show that there are issues more important than monitoring."
"It’s true that water and electricity are problematic areas – but we’ve always had to manage resources in surgery. That’s for your management of the hospital to sort out. But when it comes to anaesthesia, that’s a one-to-one problem. Once you accept to anesthetize a patient, you’ve taken the responsibility."
"I sat there quietly in Geneva, listening, and thought – do these people really know what they’re talking about? I worked in a hospital all my life, and in return I got a son who suffered oxygen deprivation. And now I’m looking after him, and living with it. That’s what prompted me to speak."
"I was a young doctor, and I was having my first baby at the hospital where I worked. In those days there was hardly any monitoring, just an earpiece to hear the baby’s heart. So the C-section came too late, and my son was severely asphyxiated. They resuscitated aggressively – it would have been unheard of, for a young house officer to lose her baby."
"I just told them that oxygen deprivation can be devastating. Not just immediately, but even worse in the long term. I don’t have a support system in my country. So I have to bear everything about my son’s care within my family."
"We anesthetize people, and once they wake up we’re happy; we may never see them again. But then months, years down the line there may be things they suffer. And that’s when my son came to mind. It was spontaneous."
"When I finished talking, the whole meeting just went silent, silent. And then there was applause. I still remember vividly, and I think I will always remember. I’ve been a teacher all my working life – I wasn’t nervous. But that’s the first time I talked about my son publicly. And not at just any meeting: at a high level international WHO meeting."
"I’m so happy it did what it did. And I’m happy Lifebox is getting on fine."
"I won’t say I’m surprised at how the work has developed, because of the drivers behind it. Because I know that it’s not about making money: there’s passion, there’s interest in making things better globally. It was one of the best teams I’ve worked with."
"Transparency and commitment: that’s what yielded dividends, and this work is life-saving. It’s not just restricted to surgery and anaesthesia – a pulse oximeter can help anyone in critical condition, fighting for life."
"I got passionate about it because I remember the way we were practicing in my country. Because it was the most advanced tertiary institution, we were handling all the major cases, and it used to be a nightmare. There was no monitoring equipment, and it was just too stressful. When the patient is under anaesthesia your own heart rate is constantly going up; it’s like working in a dark tunnel. Stress is violent on your own body. Your brain is suffering, your heart is suffering, you can feel it – your whole body, after a major procedure. You find that you can’t sleep for days because you are worrying about that patient."
"When I see surgery on the news, there’s always a lot of noise around the surgeon – like a recent case in the U.S., separating conjoined twins. But did you hear a word about the anaesthetist? I heard the word team, ‘the surgeon and his team’. I never heard the word ‘anaesthesiologist’."
"It’s a very good thing to have in place, but the problem is always implementation. So you learn from experience. You need cooperation to make it work – and attitudes are always difficult to change. You introduce it slowly, you hope people will develop interest."
"I already had that impression in my young mind that being a doctor and a surgeon was not something too abstract. As I grew, I fell in love with biological sciences and I always had the desire to be a doctor."
"Even if you come from a good background, try to encourage and push yourself to do more because the ‘more’ in you can never be exhausted."
"All the while, I never thought it as being male-dominated; it never occurred to me that there was no female before me in training. I just wanted it because I loved it. I found a new interest in it."
"My family juggled family for me so I could focus on my work. Even at work, I had a lot of people that made sure things went smoothly for me so that I didn’t have a case where I was carrying frustration from work back home. I was able to keep work at work and home at home."
"Sleep became so strange to me. I wondered how I could actually manage 48 or 72 hours with only six hours of sleep but I did and I got through it so I think in summary, it is about the type of help I had."
"Learning does not end. I will create the time for it. I am a teacher, so, I should be able to find a way to keep learning, studying and improving myself by increasing my value. I am definitely not stopping."
"I have some hobbies like knitting, hand embroidery, tapestry, and reading books and comics. I love cooking, and I create recipes. I have been a kitchen geek since childhood. I read and learn about cuisine from all parts of Nigeria and beyond, and attempt to recreate them."
"“We see media not just as a platform, but a catalyst for social impact. We’re shifting mindsets, elevating community solutions, and putting women’s health squarely in the public consciousness.”"
"“We are laying the foundation for a future where no woman is left behind, no matter her income or location.”"
"“I hope women will say, this was the moment we became visible. This office wasn’t just symbolic; it was systemic.”"
"Live a life in alignment with their true passions and purpose, and create meaningful change in the world."
"I Am Not One Thing: Breaking The Mould to Achieve Your Full Potential."
"Today, hundreds of mothers in Lagos and the improved birth rate which places Lagos ahead of the rest of the country owe much to Dr Abimbola Awoliyi."
"Dr. Elizabeth Abimbola Awoliyi was a pacesetter and a pioneer. She was someone who proved time and again that women can do it too."
"Growing up, I knew education was important and from an early age, I knew I had to do a profession, so that shaped how I ended up choosing what I chose."
"Then you are always advised not to decide what you want to do as a profession until you have done your house job, and ‘house job’ means you have to go through all the different departments in medicine. You do surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology. I enjoyed it and it occurred to me that this is where my calling was. And that was how I decided to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology. The rest is history"
"Women who shouldn’t die because of childbirth are dying simply because they have not had the care that they desire"
"We have the rich culture of the Nupe people, we have our beautiful dancers and when you see the way they make their cultural clothes, very beautiful to behold. We have a rich history."
"We need to differentiate between religion and our health. We cannot go to Church or Mosque for our pastors and imams to treat us for cancer. Yes, we can pray because it is only God that can cure us, but God has given us the tools that we need to use to get that cure."
"Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh was the Lead Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist at a private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria where she worked for 21 years. She had never seen Ebola before but was able to diagnose and contain Nigeria’s first-ever Ebola patient in July 2014. When threatened by Liberian officials who wanted the patient to be discharged to attend a conference, she resisted the pressure and said, “for the greater public good” she would not release him."
"I love to share whatever I know, passing it on to others. If I keep it to myself, it is useless. I know they can utilize it to save more lives and subsequently train others."
"Just follow your dreams. Get the knowledge, have the motivation, and then you can get anywhere you set your mind to."
"As a woman, I think it’s always important you have support. I don’t think you can achieve a lot without support. And of course, your support can be from whoever you feel can support you."
"I keep on telling young women that if you really have the support of these two men, your dad and your husband or your partner, then the sky is your limit. You really don’t have a glass ceiling once you have the support of these people."
"So as a female, you have to prove yourself beyond reasonable doubt that you can do it. You do extra because you are a female to prove that you can do it compared to your male colleagues who probably don’t need to prove themselves."
"So hard work, discipline, good team player, honesty and dedication to whatever you’re doing. Then the sky is your limit. You don’t have any glass ceiling. I’ve said over and over, I don’t have any glass ceiling. Wherever I want to go, I can get there with God’s blessing."
"We’re looking at how we can prevent women from dying from postpartum haemorrhage. We’re also looking at how we can treat women with anaemia in pregnancy, both in pregnancy and after delivery. We’re also looking at how our women in low-middle-income countries can access treatment for severe preeclampsia."
"But right now, I have trained over probably getting to 20 female consultants, gynaecologists and obstetricians who are working in Kano and in different states across Nigeria, as well as many, many male gynaecologists."
"So right now, the centre where I head, the African Center of Excellence for Population Health and Policy, one of the main things that we’re doing is training our students to translate their research findings to policy. And we also conduct capacity-building for researchers across Nigeria and Africa."
"There’s always time for everything. When I’m in the office, I’m in the office. When I get home, I dedicate myself to my family"
"You need to get the support, you need to do it of course and ultimately God will support you and give you all the blessings you need and you can achieve your dreams and goals."
"The plan involves a continuous immunization campaign, which has been highly active, with dedicated teams working diligently. They go door to door, ensuring that children in the target age groups receive immunization against the six major killer diseases, including polio. This ongoing effort has led to positive results for Nigeria. Polio is a viral disease that spreads in unsanitary environments, but thanks to the effective polio immunization programs in place, we are confident that there will be no recurrence of polio cases."
"In recent years, the health sector has not been functioning as it should. A well-functioning healthcare system operates on three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary care. Unfortunately, primary healthcare has not played the crucial role it was intended to. As we know, about 80 percent of the population lives in rural areas, while only 20 percent resides in urban centers. However, healthcare services are concentrated in urban areas, with 80 percent of healthcare facilities located there, leaving just 20 percent in rural areas. This creates a disparity between the distribution of the population and healthcare services. Our goal is to ensure that healthcare delivery is strengthened where the majority of the population resides. To achieve this, we have established a board at the state level for primary healthcare, aimed at ensuring effective connections and a strong referral system to make healthcare delivery more sustainable."
"This issue is not unique to Benue State. There is an Act that allows the marketing of traditional medicine. I’m not suggesting we shut down their businesses, but we will monitor and regulate their activities. Just like in conventional medicine, doctors are prohibited from advertising their practices due to ethical guidelines. We need to educate these producers that advertising is not permitted in health-related matters. It is the quality of their results that should attract patients, not self-promotion."
"For instance, the Hausa community said because government does not want their population to grow, they have brought these drugs. They are alienating themselves from taking it and it is free. It has cost American government money to make these drugs available but because of the belief and lack of understanding they are not accepting the use of those drugs."
"In Benue, almost a whole community of Ikyor in Kwande local government Area of the state was rendered blind because of the Onchocerchiasis. The damage has been done before the Metizan drugs was made available. And for the healthy people in that community, the drugs were supplied to them."
"Benue is a hyper endemic area for the river blindness and if you take it because I also take it, worms will not blind your eyes. The other causes of blindness like glaucoma, glaucoma is our worst enemy. You may be carrying it and may not know until a specialist tells you that you have glaucoma and then you start early treatment. If glaucoma blinds you it’s irreversible but if diseases like cataract blinds you, it’s good news because it is reversible. So people should access the metizan drugs, use it to help themselves."
"The immunization programme has been very active and the people that are engaged are equally active. They have been going from house to house ensuring that children of those ages are immunized against the six killer diseases which polio is one of them. So the sustained action has given Nigeria the positive result."
"Polio is a viral disease and it multiplies where you have a dirty environment. But with the effective polio immunization programmes on ground, we will not have reoccurrence of cases of polio again. This goes for the other childhood diseases as well, If government can sustain the expanded programme on immunization, we will definitely get rid of polio and all other child killer diseases. And I want to assure that my office will ensure it is sustained in Benue here."
"This issue is not peculiar to Benue state alone. They have an act that enable them to market their traditional medicine. So, I am not going to tell you that we are going to close down their businesses but we are going to monitor and control their activities. Like in the conventional medicine, the doctors, we are not allowed to advertise our practices. It is against our ethics. So we need to bring these people to the knowledge that advertisement is not allowed in health matters. Your results should attract more patients to you and not you singing your praises."
"Simple measures like digging pit toilets will go a long way to control cholera. But you see them defecating in the bush and when rain fall, all the feases will be washed into their water source and they will still fetch it to cook and drink. So why won’t there be cholera. So if there is adequate provision of portable water in the state and simple health education to communities that some habits are injurious to their health, it will curb cholera."
"I have witnessed a situation where a patient approach a healthcare centre and the doctor is not there. Anything can happen so I advised them to take their work serious and to be there when they need to be there. Healthcare delivery is like playing football. If I pass the ball to you and you refuse to pass it where it is supposed to be passed, the person can die and you know death is irreversible."
"That’s right, I was born with mid-frequency hearing loss and struggled with inter-personal communication as a child without knowing what was wrong. In fact, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 33 years old."
"Yes, hearing impairment is associated with superstitions in many communities, which feed into both. However, the major reason for the issue’s neglect and, so to speak, ‘invisibility’ is the fact that it is not associated with significant mortality."
"Nigeria, like most developing countries, is greatly influenced by global health priorities and funding programmes, which tend to prioritise reducing mortality or ensuring survival rather than supporting or promoting well-being."
"One key finding was the contribution of severe neonatal jaundice to the incidence of hearing loss."
"Children living with disabilities need the support of a wide range of specialists, including paediatricians, psychologists, neurologists, audiologist and otorhinolaryngologists – to name just a few."
"No African medical professional could reach a position of authority over white colleagues."
"At the same time, medical training had only recently become accessible to women in the UK, and was non-existent within Ghana, or the Gold Coast as it was known until independence."
"So it is remarkable that under these circumstances three West African women qualified as doctors and showed by their example the crucial role of women in advancing maternal and child health."
"“It was easier to feed 500 people for me than it was for me to say to someone, ‘God loves you’. So I had to devise ways and means to show people the love I knew they desperately needed.”"
"“Because the head of the femur needs the acetabulum in the pelvic bone to articulate to form the hip joint; surround yourself with people who will hold you up when you feel like giving up.”"
"“Rescue is just the beginning. Safety gives survivors breathing space, but rehabilitation through counselling, empowerment, and skills training gives them back their future.”"
"I have double certification; I am a gynecologist and a neurosurgeon, a marine, and with our training comes the fact that once you are a soldier, you are able to know what is important and what is not important."
"There is no day we don’t get up to one, two three rescues; we have ‘Okadas’ that go pick people that have been sexually abused, of course, there should be ambulances, but I tell my ambulances to make bikes to do all of that. The work is endless."
"I’m a merchant of hope, that’s what I sell. I sell hope; that’s why you see people coming. There is a difference between charity, where you dehumanize the receiver. Everybody that came here has the choice of what they wanted."
""Life has not been a bed of roses for me... To some people, when they are at their lowest moment they buy dresses for themselves, but for me, I look for people to help. I had 18 miscarriages before I eventually took in”"
"“The work we do is all about the journey, not just the rescue.”"
"“Every child deserves a safe space to grow and thrive.”"