The University of Medical Sciences, Ondo (UNIMED) last weekend matriculated its first set of students, Olusegun Hakeem-Adebumiti, an administrative officer in the Varsity writes on the critical place of the medical institution in Nigeria and Africa.
On Saturday 12th March, 2016, a new Ivory Tower named University of Medical Sciences was birthed in the city of Ondo, in Ondo State, Nigeria.
The official inauguration of the Univeristy and the matriculation of 234 students admitted into the various five courses accredited by the Nigerian University Commission (NUC) for the 2015/2016 academic session shaped the historical day.
The adventure of the new University whose acronym is UNIMED began on April, 2015, after the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Professor Julius Okojie presented the Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko the letter of recognition of the
University at an event held in Abuja.
Very few of such universities presently exist around the world. Apart from been the first in West Africa, and the third in Africa. The Medical University of South Africa in Pretoria and the Medical University of Science and Technology in Sudan are presently the only two of its kind in Africa.
The Poznan University Medical Sciences, New York; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and the Charles Drew University of Medicine in Los Angeles, California, all in the USA are examples of Medical Universities available on the global stage.
Going down memory lane, Nigerian institutions were the preferred universities for students from all over Africa desiring Medical Education in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, Nigerian students prefer to attend Medical institutions in countries such as Ghana, South Africa and European countries.
This has resulted in considerable brain-drain, which has adversely affected the health care delivery system and contributed to Nigeria's inability to improve various health indicators in the country.
The creation and establishment of UNIMED as a new medical educational institution is seen as one that will correct many of the anomalies that presently bedevil medical training in Nigeria, allowing the country to return as a central hub of medical education and service delivery in the African continent.
The mission of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo is "to provide exceptional quality and comprehensive health care and integrated education and research in all health-related sciences. It also aims to expand access to compassionate and high quality health
care for under-served populations, and to lead the scientific pathway for reducing the burden of disease in the areas of operation."
The African region has been characterized by high endemicity of infectious and non-communicable diseases, and with deficit of quality human resources to confront these Health challenges.
It was out of the desire to confront these related Health problems that the University evolved as a central hub of medical education, training, research and service delivery for the whole of west and central Africa and indeed, the entire African region.
In positioning the University as a world-class institution, the cutoff marks set for the students who applied for Medicine and Surgery were pegged at an aggregate score of 72, while the admission list was strictly based on merit.
The five courses being run in the school namely, Medicine, Anatomy, Biochemistry, Physiology and Dentistry are tailored towards the advice of the NUC and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). What is more is that the University will commence Nursing and Pharmacy courses in the next academic session.
The exemplary curricula and programmes of UNIMED in various Health disciplines set it apart as model in Medical Education, which will endear its method of specialised education to health care providers and decision-makers around the world.
For a University which boasts of council members headed by an Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe alongside the Vice Chancellor, Professor Friday Okonofua, as well as notable practitioners in the field of Medicine, the sky is surely the starting point for UNIMED in achieving the mission and vision of Medical Education.
The political will is also there with the Governor of the State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko being a Medical Doctor himself.
With the takeoff of the University as a medical hub providing excellence service delivery in training and research in various medical disciplines, it is the desire of Nigerians that UNIMED will provide mechanisms that will stem the current tide of increasing brain-drain and medical tourism that has been a cog in the wheel of Nigeria's economic growth.
Also, Ondo state will now start producing lots of first class Medical Doctors that can practice in any part of the world. The specialized University has now provided a National benchmark in Nigeria, while also becoming a global reference point in Medical Education.
(Re-edited Article)
Olusegun Hakeem-Adebumiti is an Administrative Officer with the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo city.
Follow on Twitter: @hakeemadebumiti
