Ola Orekunrin was studying to become a doctor in the UK a few years
ago when her younger sister fell seriously ill while traveling in
Nigeria. The 12-year-old girl, who'd gone to the West African country on
holiday with relatives, needed urgent care but the nearest hospital
couldn't deal with her condition.
Orekunrin and her family immediately began looking for an air ambulance service to rapidly transport the girl, a sickle cell anemia
sufferer, to a more suitable healthcare facility. They searched all
across West Africa but were stunned to find out there was none in the
whole region.
"The nearest one at the
time was in South Africa," remembers Orekunrin. "They had a 12-hour
activation time so by the time they were ready to activate, my sister
was dead.
"It was really a
devastating time for me and I started thinking about whether I should be
in England talking about healthcare in Africa, or I should be in Africa
dealing with healthcare and trying to do something about it."
Orekunrin did the latter.
Motivated by the tragic death of her sister, the young doctor decided
to leave behind a high-flying job in the UK to take to the Nigerian
skies and address the vital issue of urgent healthcare in Africa's most
populous country.
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