While still basking in the euphoria of his exceptional achievement as the first black Secretary-General of International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS), Professor Oladapo Ashiru has added another feather to his cap. The renowned reproductive endocrinologist has again been honoured with the Hallmarks of Labour Foundation (HLF) Role Model Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of medicine.
HLF conceived and birthed against the backdrop of increasing decay in societal moral fabrics, dishonest practices and inept management of public affairs by successive governments, identifies and honours men and women of repute who by wide acclaim are considered worthy of being role models in their various categories.
The HLF, made up of highly respected elder statesmen and women amongst them technocrats, academics and diplomats, bestowed Ashiru who is the Chief Medical Director of Medical Assisted Reproduction Technology, (MART) and Healthcare Services, with the honour during their 25th year anniversary which held recently in Lagos.
Only seven months ago, IFFS. a long-standing global organisation representing National Fertility Societies and made up of 50,000 physicians and reproduction medicine specialists worldwide including various healthcare professionals, appointed Ashiru as its first black secretary-general in the history of the global body. Ironically, this is one of many firsts in the life of the professor of Anatomy. He was the first youngest professor ever appointed in medicine in Nigeria.
He was responsible for the birth of the first test tube baby in Nigeria and West-Africa, with the assistance of his colleague, Prof Giwa-Osagie. They both pioneered IVF and embryo transfer in West Africa. Ashiru was also the first to record a successful live birth of a sickle cell free baby through the technique of pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT).
Trained at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1974, he obtained his master’s degree in Anatomy from the University of Nebraska in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Anatomy from the same University in 1979. He is fondly referred to as the father of In-Vitro fertilization (IVF) in West Africa.
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