I congratulate the immediate Past President of Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) Oyo State Branch, Dr. Omolara Adenike Olusola-Taiwo and the Efficient and Eminent members of the Executive Committee she worked with for an Excellent, Enthusiastic tenure, filled with Energy from 2019 to 2021. They had taken MWAN Oyo to a greater level of visibility, beauty and impact. Watching the MWAN Oyo executives coordinate activities over the last two years was a great instructive lesson from an able and capable leadership passionately serving their communities and bringing ‘healing with the hands of a mother’.
Dr. Olusola-Taiwo led MWAN Oyo through the very difficult season of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that we actively joined the fight against the virus and organising several public health campaign activities with media houses. In the midst of the pandemic MWAN leadership had actively sought out partnerships such as with the Federation of Women Lawyers to mount screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer. Landmark days were adequately commemorated such as the International Day of the Girl Child, International Women’s Day and the World Breastfeeding Week, to mention a few. Through the photographs and reports of activities that filled the Oyo MWAN WhatsApp group platform, we were able to follow the members of the Executive as they moved into difficult-to-reach health centres, market places and schools, bringing change to the lives of women, girls and their families.
The Immediate Past MWAN Oyo President, Dr. Omolara Olusola-Taiwo graduated MBBS in 2000 from the First and the Best in West Africa, the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI). We are proud of her efforts as a trailblazer and leader who holds a Masters degree in Public Health from CoMUI and a Diploma in Health Systems Management from the Galilee International Management Institute in Israel. I congratulate her for successfully hosting, along with the executives, a world class Biennial General Meeting and Scientific Conference of MWAN which ushered in Dr. Adekemi Otolorin of Oyo MWAN as National President.
CoMUI is truly blessed to have had several members of the CoMUI community serve as foundation members of MWAN. A distinguished alumna and former Professor and Head of the Department of Community Medicine (formerly Preventive and Social Medicine-PSM), CoMUI, Professor Oludayisi Oduntan founded the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) on 23 April 1977. Two CoMUI Alumni, Professors Modupe Onadeko and Aderonke Manuwa-Olumide also played a pioneering role in the establishment of MWAN, attending the 1976 Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) Congress in Tokyo where MWAN was enrolled as a member of MWIA along with Professor Oduntan. CoMUI applauds these teachers and mentors for their foresight and vision.
The theme chosen for the MWAN Oyo - End of 2019-2021 Biennial Activities was very apt, “The Scourge of Child Abuse: Mothers to the Rescue”. Child Abuse is a big problem in our communities and it is important that we tackle the various aspects of this.
I congratulate the16th President for the 2021-2023 Biennium, Dr Oyindamola Adeyemi, and wish her and the executive team a ”Tenure of Greater Excellence, Enthusiasm & Energy”
Olayinka Olusola Omigbodun FAS, FNAMed, FAMedS
Professor of Psychiatry & Provost
MWAN Oyo 2019-2021 Biennium school outreach programmes on COVID-19 prevention and control
MWAN Oyo 2019-2021 Biennium distributing free sanitary pads to adolescents during the 2021 World Menstrual Hygiene Day
MWAN Oyo 2019-2021 Biennium launches book that answers over 60 questions on menstruation asked by adolescents
