This news was culled from The PUNCH Newspaper’s publication of July 31, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

The President, Association of Medical Schools of Africa, Prof. Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa, has identified insecurity, population explosion and poverty as bane of health education in Nigeria.

 

 

 

 

 

Olapade-Olaopa also listed inadequate finance, illiteracy and poor access as some other major factors responsible for the poor development of the health education in the country.

 

 

 

 

He spoke while delivering a lecture with the theme, ‘Imperatives of Transforming Health Professionals Education’, at the second edition of the Professor Emeritus Oladipo Akinkugbe 2022 Distinguished Lecture of the University of Medical Science (UNIMED) Ondo.

 

Education and health are essential contributors to national development, he said, noting that both are major determinants of human capital.

 

 

 

 

According to him, health improves quality of labour and productivity but advocated that emphasis must be placed on girl-child education. His words: “In transforming a health professionals education system, efforts must be focused on health professionals education and healthcare delivery. The goal is to produce competent, socially responsive health professionals.

 

 

 

 

“This requires functioning health education system which must involve all stakeholders of rather than just curricula reform which must omprise.of variables classified into ‘Input’, ‘Process’ and ‘Output’ sections”.

 

 

 

 

Olapade-Olaopa, however, said processes of reforming the health education sector require transformation of all sectors, especially education and health, adding that processes must start from family units and communities but involve all stakeholders.

 

 

 

 

The Vice Chancellor of UNIMED, Prof. Olusegun Fatusi, said the school had come up with a policy that required all lecturers of the institution to have training in pedagogy.

 

 

 

 

Fatusi said this was part of the efforts of the university towards effective human development capacity in the area of medical and science education.

 

 

 

 

The UNIMED VC reiterated that the mission of the school was to offer high-quality education across all health-related sciences and professional fields.

 

 

 

 

The don noted that the varsity had established a Centre for Health Professions and Biomedical Education last year to drive the agenda of educating university-based health and medical teachers in the art and science of teaching and ensure quality teaching and learning across all our 26 courses spread over 9 faculties and two schools.