“Chisom Chukwuneke Medical Foundation Committed In Treating Poor Children With Health Challenges,” Says Founder

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The founder of the Chisom Enyinnia Chukwuneke Medical Foundation,  Prof. Felix Chukwuneke, has explained  that the foundation was born to keep the dreams of his late daughter alive.

Delivering the 186th inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) yesterday, titled “Oral and maxillofacial surgical practice in a developing economy: the making of a surgeon, Prof. Chukwuneke, who is the dean of the faculty of dentistry, 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”.

The maxillofacial surgeon of the University of Nigeria, further explained that the Chisom Chukwuneke Medical Foundation was formed 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, Prof. Nzube Felix Chukwuneke of Oba, Anambra State, 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.

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.

Earlier in the 186th inaugural lecture, of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Felix 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.

The maxillofacial surgeon said 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.

The inaugural lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which was introduced in 1976 to stimulate research and promote academic excellence among the academia was pioneered by Prof Ikenna Nzimiro with his lecture titled “the crisis in the social sciences, the Nigerian situation.

The 186th inaugural lecture attracted high number of Academia, a huge crowd, including the Deputy Vice chancellor, University of Nigeria, Enugu-Campus-UNEC, Prof Daniel Nwachukwu who represented the VC, Prof Charles Igwe and two former provosts of the college of medicine, Prof Basden Onwubere and prof Ernest Onwasigwe as well as former dean faculty of Dentistry Prof. Oge Linda Okoye.