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| Prof. Femi Soyinka. |
The renowned researcher and former Provost of the College of Health Sciences of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, according to a statement by his family, died in the early hours of Tuesday, the 14th of June, at his home in Kukumada Village, Ibadan, Oyo State, at age 85.
Professor Femi
Soyinka was the younger brother of Nobel laureate and professor of comparative
literature, Wole Soyinka and the Soyinka Family of Ake/Isara, Ogun State, has
announced the passing of their father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother,
uncle, Professor Femi Soyinka, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, 14
June 2022 at his home in Kukumada Village, Ibadan, Oyo State.
Born in 1937,
Professor Femi Soyinka received a Medical degree in Medicine and Surgery MBchB
from the University of Heidelberg, 1964 and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree
from the same University in 1965. He specialised and practiced as a
Dermatologist, Venereologist and Allergologist at the University of
Giessen,1969.
In 1972, he
obtained a Master of Public Health degree from Hadassah Medical School, (MPH)
Israel.
He worked in the
academic field for 30 years, holding various positions from Chief Medical
Director to Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Provost of College
of Health Sciences of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
He was also
involved in extensive research work on Tropical Skin Diseases and Sexually
transmitted infections (STIs) in collaboration with the Federal Government,
international donor agencies and organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP,
DFID, the British Council; and the International Development Re-search Centre,
Canada.
He pioneered
several researches in the field of HIV/AIDS and worked as consultant to various
international and local agencies including the World Health Organization, DFID,
UNDP and Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health based on his extensive experience
on the subject in various parts of the country.
Prof. Femi
Soyinka was in the forefront of mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. by
translating the outcomes of his researches into clinical practice, he impacted
significantly not only in the lives of numerous individuals and families living
with the disease, but also on the nation as a whole.
He initiated the
Ambassador of Hope program in Nigeria, encouraging people living with HIV/AIDs
(PLWHAs) to speak up, thereby bringing the much-needed public awareness to the
disease at a time when knowledge was low and stigma was high.
He also
demonstrated technical knowledge and was involved with many other HIV/AIDs
related programs including HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, prevention of
mother-to-child transmission, ARV programs, voluntary counselling and testing
(VCT) and home-based care for PLWHAs in Nigeria.
Subsequently, he
contributed significantly to capacity building of indigenous organizations
across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria through his non-governmental
organization – New Initiative for the Enhancement of Life and Health (NELAH)
previously known as; Network on Ethics/Human Rights, Law, HIV/AIDS-Prevention,
Support and Care (NELA). He was a past president of Society for AIDS in Africa
and he successfully coordinated the International Conference on AIDS and STIS
In Africa (ICASA) in Abuja, Nigeria in the year 2005.
He is survived by
his wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Burial
arrangements would be announced by the family later.
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