Like many other Nigerian heroes, it is foreign agencies and governments that usually accord these rare stars an opportunity to tell the world their stories.
The Gates Foundation has honoured Dr Adaoro as one of its five heroes in the field for 2017. Adaoro is one of the few Nigerian doctors that helped in curtailing the spread of Ebola in the country.
According to a tweet by the foundation, Dr Adaoro was one of the doctor infected with the communicable disease by Mr Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian diplomat, in Nigeria0. An incident that happened at the First Consultant Medical Centre (FCMC) in Lagos where she was having her one-year compulsory medical housemanship and training.
Adaoro, who has now dedicated her life to the research, treatment, and prevention of future epidemics, said about her experience fighting the disease.
“You don’t know if it’s going to end with your death,” she said.
“Ebola is going to come back. It may not be next year or the next five years. But it will come back. I know I was sick for a reason. There’s a lot more I have to do.”
Also Read: What will happen to the great Nigerians we forgot about?
How Nigeria failed to honour Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, Adaoro and others
Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, Adaoro and others of the FCMC, Lagos have been credited for curbing the spread of Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing the Patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite repeated pressures from Liberian Embassy in the country.
Adaoro narrated the incidence during one of her interviews: “On the night of Sunday, July 20, 2014, Patrick Sawyer was wheeled into the Emergency Room at First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos, with complaints of fever and body weakness….Knowing that Mr Sawyer had recently arrived from Liberia, the doctor asked if he had been in contact with an Ebola patient in the last couple of weeks, and Mr Sawyer denied any such contact. He also denied attending any funeral ceremony recently….”
“During our early morning ward round with Dr Adadevoh, we concluded that this was not malaria and that the patient needed to be screened for Ebola Viral Disease… Dr Adadevoh at this time was in a pensive mood. Patrick Sawyer was now a suspected case of Ebola, perhaps the first in the country. He was quarantined….“
However, Dr Adadevoh never survived the infection but she and her team did a good job of millions of lives in Nigeria.
Also Read: Stella Adadevoh deserves to have more schools named after her
Despite the obvious sacrifice made by Dr Adadevoh and her team, the government of Nigeria has not acknowledged their efforts in preventing this epidemic. The team had not received a National Merit Award nor have medical facilities named after them.
Like many other Nigerian heroes, it is foreign agencies and governments that usually accord these rare stars an opportunity to tell the world their stories. As a result, many people see no reason in giving more towards developing the country.
Lifestyle: Gates Foundation honours one of Nigeria’s ‘forgotten Ebola hero’
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