Isaac Ladipo Oluwole
| Isaac Ladipo Oluwole | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1892 Lagos, Nigeria |
| Died | 1953 |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Education | MB, ChB (1918) |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | Medical doctor |
Isaac Ladipo Oluwole (1892–1953) was a Nigerian doctor who made important improvements to the public health services in Nigeria.
Early years
Isaac Ladipo Oluwole was born around 1892, son of the Anglican bishop Isaac Oluwole.[1] He and James Churchill Vaughan were both among the pioneer students at King's College, Lagos when it opened in September 1909. Oluwole was the first Senior Prefect of the School.[2] Later Oluwole and Vaughan both went to the University of Glasgow in 1913 to study Medicine.[1] The two students were conspicuous by their colour, and were subject to racial prejudice. Oluwole was called "Darkness visible" after the phrase from Milton's Paradise Lost.[3]
After graduating as MB, ChB in 1918, Oluwole returned to Nigeria.[1] He went into general practice in Abeokuta for a few years, then returned to Glasgow to take his DPH.[4]
Medical officer
In 1925 Oluwole was appointed the first African assistant Medical Officer of Health in Lagos.[4] Oluwole founded the first School of Hygiene in Nigeria, at Yaba, Lagos, providing training to Sanitary Inspectors from all parts of Nigeria. On graduation they obtained the Diploma of the Royal Institute of Public Health, London. He re-organised sanitary inspection procedures in the port of Lagos to control the spread of bubonic plague.[5] The plague, breaking out in unsanitary shanty towns in Lagos, caused many deaths between 1924 and 1930. Many of the slums were demolished, forcing their inhabitants to resettle into the unregulated suburbs.[6]
Among other achievements, Oluwole opened the Massey Street Dispensary, reclaimed swampy islands to aid in malaria control and built a new abattoir to improve food hygiene.[4] Oluwole started the first school health services in Lagos in 1925.[7] He introduced regular sanitary inspections and vaccinations of children.[5] Oluwole was appointed Medical Officer of Health in 1936. In 1940 Oluwole was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE). When he died in 1953 he was recognized as the father of public health in Nigeria.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Biography of Isaac Lapido Oluwole". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ "History of Kings College". King's College Old Boys Association. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ Jane Starfield (2001). "A Dance with the Empire: Modiri Molema's Glasgow Years". Vista University, Soweto. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Daniel Rikichi Kajang (September 2004). "Organization and Management of Health Services in Nigeria: 1960-2004". St. Clements University,. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "History of Environmental Health". Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ Ayodeji Olukoju. "LOCAL AND GLOBAL DYNAMICS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE PORT-CITY OF LAGOS SINCE THE NINETEENTH CENTURY". Department of History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ↑ O RANSOME-KUTI (1986). "Child health in Nigeria: past, present, and future". Archives of Disease in Childhood 61 (2): 198–204. doi:10.1136/adc.61.2.198. PMC 1777587. PMID 3954447.