by News48hrs.com
His Holiness Pope
Francis has announced the former Commissioner for Health in Anambra state, Prof
Amobi Ilika as a Knight of St Gregory the Great, the highest Papal award/honour
in the Catholic Church worldwide for a laity.
Disclosing this to
journalists, through the Catholic Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Right Rev. Hilary
Odili Okeke said that Ilika, who was a Commissioner in Ex Governor Peter Obi’s administration
in Anambra state, would receive his investiture on Saturday 16th
May, 2015 at Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral, Nnewi, Anambra state.
According to Bishop
Okeke, Pope is bestowing Prof Ilika with the highest award of Knight of St
Gregory the Great for his service to humanity and contributions to the Church
and society.
It is on record,
Professor Ilika is very active with his Pro life campaigns against legalizing
abortion and he has been a voice for the unborn children and victims of
violence.
As a medical doctor, Prof
Ilika has ran a Pro-poor and humanitarian services aimed at alleviating human
suffering as well as services to the handicapped and physically challenged,
even as he was Chairman of Board of Trustees of RECDOCT home Ozubulu.
While in office as
Commissioner for Health, he initiated and restored grant in aid to private and
missionary health institutions in Anambra state which was stopped by the
Military after the war, foresaw the rehabilitation of Mission hospitals, accreditation
of school of nursing and midwifery such as Borrowmew hospital Onitsha, Our Lady
of Lourdes Ihiala, St Joseph’s Adazi and Waterside Onitsha, witnessed the
extension of health facilities to rural and difficult to reach areas like
Mmiata Nnam , Osamala etc.
Also, it was during his
tenure, Governor Peter Obi’s administration established the University Teaching
Hospital Awka at Amaku General Hospital for proper training of doctors , and
other health staff as well as provision of high quality and specialist
services.
He is among the founding
father of Anambra College of Medicine , the medical school of Anambra state
University , now known as Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University .
It was in his tenure, Anambra
state won an award from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a plague and
N120 Million cash which Obi’s government matched with N180 Million to build
special child and mother maternities in select rural areas in the state.
Ilika’s campaign against
abortion necessitated building of cenotaph of the unborn child at St Mathew’s
Catholic Church, Amawbia and St Michael’s Catholic Church Amakwa Ozubulu and
even mobilized the Knighthood as the Supreme Physician of the Knight of St
Mulumba to build over 20 cenotaph’s of the unborn child across Nigeria.
He is a Professor of
Public Health at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) and an
international Consultant to United Nations Fund for Population Activities
(UNFPA) and have travelled all over including Eritrea and Sudan, awarded 2006
Michael and Bell International Award for life initiatives, he shared the award
with an Italian Nun.
The new Knight was the first
Professor of Public Health in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, a former HOD Community
Medicine, NAUTH , Chairman Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC) ; Member of Senate
of National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria ; Member Faculty Board of
Public Health, National Post Graduate Medical College of Nigeria, Member
American Society of Tropical Medicine Hygiene and member Nigeria Vision
2020 on Health thematic area to mention but a few.
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