The dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Felix Chukwuneke, has said that he established a medical foundation to keep the dreams of his late daughter alive.
Late Chisom Enyinnia Chukwuneke, who emerged as the best in the 2019 WAEC exams of the Graceland College, Enugu, was born on 24th August 2003 and died in a South African hospital on 18th October 2020 after a brief illness.
The don disclosed that he established the Chisom Enyinnia Chukwuneke Medical Foundation in honour of his late daughter, whose desire was to provide indigent children with access to free medicare.
Delivering the 186th inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, titled “oral and maxillofacial surgical practice in a developing economy: the making of a surgeon”, Prof Chukwuneke revealed that two weeks before his daughters MOC exam in 2019, she changed her mind from studying software engineering to medicine.
According to him, “she decided to read medicine to have the opportunity to treat children from poor parents of their health challenges.
“My daughter was always very passionate about the survival of children whose parents are poor, those who do not have opportunity of getting the best health care like her”, he said.
The maxillofacial surgeon further explained that the Chisom Chukwuneke Medical Foundation was established to basically help in treating poor children with health challenges so that they can actualize their academic ambition.
To ensure the successful take off of the foundation, the Oba, Anambra State-born, physician announced the release of #5million and made a passionate appeal to the wealthy and multi-national bodies within and outside the country to support the foundation to guarantee its optimum performance.
In the 186th inaugural lecture, Chukwuneke announced that surgeons of the faculty of dentistry of the institution, have developed some local surgical innovations in the absence of the conventional technique to handle patients.
He disclosed that due to the huge success achieved, some developing countries that found themselves in similar situations like Nigeria, have started copying the new model discovered by the faculty.
He also identified a vicious chain reaction of poverty, superstition, ignorance, poor health-seeking behaviors and limited options of treatment to patients default for late presentation of their ailment, which has posed more difficulty in finding cure.
