Prof Babatunde Osotimehin [1949-2017]
Nigerians from all walks of life received with shock, news of the sudden death of Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, who until his demise on Sunday, July 4 was Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA. He died at the age of 68 in his home in Harrison, New York City.
Osotimehin was UNFPA’s fourth Executive Director. He was appointed for a four-year term in 2010, holding the rank of Under Secretary General of the United Nations. Due to his outstanding performance, he was reappointed to the position on August 21, 2014. UNFPA is the UN’s lead agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is protected, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. Its work involves improvement of reproductive health, including creation of national strategies and protocols and providing supplies and services.
During his seven year stint there, Professor Osotimehin significantly improved the agency’s worldwide campaign against child marriage, obstetric fistula and female genital mutilation in more than 150 countries in Arabia, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. He was indeed a great ambassador of Nigeria and Africa and would be remembered for his great dedication and selfless service.
Before he went to UNFPA, Osotimehin was Nigeria’s Minister of Health under President Umaru Yar’adua, during which he did a lot to reduce maternal mortality by removing encumbrances associated with health care delivery. He succeeded in this area by encouraging collaboration between federal and state governments.
Before his appointment as minister, Professor Osotimehin served as the first Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA until 2009. It was during his time at NACA that a massive campaign was launched through sponsorship of jingles in radio, television and newspapers all in an effort to reduce stigmatization and combat the spread of the dreaded diseases. He backed this up with seeking collaboration with international donors, a development that made access to screening centres and anti-retroviral drugs accessible by HIV carriers.
As a testimony to his wide popularity, more than 100 countries sent their condolence messages to Nigeria over his death. Nigeria’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN, Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said condolences came in from the majority of the 193 UN member states. He said he had been receiving condolences from Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of Missions since the sad demise of Osotimehin.
In her condolence message, wife of the President Mrs Aisha Buhari said his exit was an irreplaceable loss. “The news of his death came as a rude shock and his passing away is a great loss to us all. I and the Future Assured team mourn his demise. He will indeed be greatly missed,” she said. In his tribute, NACA’s current DG Dr. Sani Aliyu said Professor Osotimehin successfully transformed the organization from a committee to a Federal Government agency, saying the deceased will be fondly remembered for his outstanding contributions to the HIV/AIDS response in Nigeria.
A native of Ogun State, Professor Osotimehin attended Igbobi College between 1966 and 1971 and after his medical studies at University of Ibadan; he received a doctorate in medicine from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom in 1979. He was at one time Provost of the College of Medicine of the University of Ibadan.
Without doubt, the late Professor would be remembered for his consistency in policy formulation and implementation within the context of reproductive health. He was an advocate of improved funding of the health sector as a way of providing access to women, children and vulnerable groups in the society. Therefore, the Nigerian government would do well by upholding his legacies and by immortalizing him. While we extend our heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, we join millions of people across the world in mourning the passing away of this great man who rendered selfless service to humanity over several decades. May his soul rest in peace.