By Adeyinka Adeniran
A non governmental organisation, Frederick Foundation, in collaboration with the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and the University College Hospital, Ibadan, has been inaugurated with a focus on strengthening stroke care, research and medical education in Nigeria.
Established in December 2023 by Oxford Emeritus Professor of Neuropathology, Margaret Esiri, in memory of her late husband, Dr Frederick Esiri, the foundation seeks to improve stroke services, build the capacity of healthcare professionals and support research into stroke prevention and treatment.
Speaking at the inauguration in Ibadan, while giving her keynote address, Professor Esiri said the foundation was inspired by her late husband’s commitment to improving healthcare in Nigeria. Dr Esiri, an Oxford medical graduate from Nigeria, returned to the country in 1981 and ran a health clinic in Taraba State for over 20 years.
She said the foundation would work with the University of Ibadan, UCH and Oxford University to strengthen stroke care and reduce mortality, while also providing opportunities for medical students through an exchange programme between the University of Ibadan and Oxford.
She disclosed that the foundation focuses on improving stroke care outcomes starting in Ibadan, Nigeria, while building academic partnerships between the medical schools of the University of Ibadan and the University of Oxford.
Early initiatives, according to her, include sending a seven-member clinical team from Ibadan to observe operations at the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Stroke Unit, backed by educational webinars, to evaluate how improved nursing and therapy practices impact patient survival and recovery.
She explained that, building on these efforts, the foundation inaugurated a reciprocal student exchange program sending two medical students each between Ibadan and Oxford to advance education and research in clinical neuroscience.
She concluded her presentation by raising key public health questions on encouraging preventative lifestyle changes, securing government support for stroke care, and expanding quality treatment to low-resource settings, ending with extensive acknowledgments of collaborators across Nigeria and the UK.
Chairman of the occasion, who is also the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale, described the foundation as a transformation of personal loss into a legacy of hope, noting that limited resources and access to specialised treatment continue to affect stroke care in Africa.
He noted that the foundation aims to transform stroke care across Sub-Saharan Africa by addressing critical healthcare deficits such as limited neuroimaging, restricted access to therapies, delayed patient presentation, and a lack of standardized care protocols.
According to him, choosing the University of Ibadan as the anchor for the initiative underscores the institution’s historical standing as a leader in medical education and research in West Africa.
He disclosed further that a major outcome of the collaboration is the approval of a clinical neurosciences medical student exchange program between the University of Oxford and the University of Ibadan, identifying key academic figures instrumental in establishing this bridge to include: Professor Godwin Ogbole and Professor Rufus Akinyemi.
He said, beyond student exchange, the partnership focuses on strengthening acute stroke unit operations at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, establishing standardized clinical workflows, and driving actionable research that can be scaled across resource-limited settings.
Also speaking, Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Professor Taiwo Lawal, representing the Provost of the College of Medicine, Professor Temidayo Ogundiran said the partnership goes beyond student exchange, creating opportunities for academic collaboration, clinical training and research.
The foundation has so far awarded four travel grants to medical students from the University of Ibadan and Oxford, while plans are also underway to support the development of an acute stroke unit at UCH, Ibadan.
