Jane Wai-Ogosu: The Doctor Who Put Sickle Cell Disease High On UK’s Political Agenda

By Sam Asoluka

Success they say does not come in a straight line. But if you work hard, persevere and do things right, the right things will happen and success will come.

However, it is not easy to succeed or excel in a foreign clime especially in an endeavour to help humanity. So, it brightens the face and gladdens the mind to see even one person overcome the enormous challenges and pick a trophy.

This gives hope to others in the Diaspora that they can as well excel in their chosen careers if they work hard and persevere. 

There are indeed some Nigerians in the Diaspora who have seen-off the challenges and are quietly doing great things for the countries where they reside and for humanity too. Some of these Nigerians are professionals in their own right. These silent Achievers are the heroes and heroines of our time.

One of such heroines in the diaspora today is Dr Jane Wai-Ogosu. She trained at University of Ibadan and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London. Dr Jane is a Global Health Consultant with special interests in Public Health, Tropical Medicine, Pharmaceutical Medicine, Equitable Health Services Management and International Development. She is the daughter of the late Hon. Chief Justice S. A. Wai – Ogosu, a strict disciplinarian, an educationist, a former Chief Judge of the Rivers state and the Paramount Ruler/Chief of Onne Eleme, Rivers State of Nigeria. He was a great influence in her life and achievements.

After serving as a Member of the Board of Sickle Cell Society, UK for many years, she was elected the Chairperson from 2008 to 2009.  She also served as a Director of the London Focus Group on Sickle Cell in Africa. She is a Founding Member of London International Development Centre (LIDC) and the Vice Chair of Afrikan Health Foundation (AHF).

Dr Jane devotes much of her professional life genuinely caring for others and she still has not slowed down. In all her work she put in boundless energy, enthusiasm and hard-work so as to achieve pristine results. In November 2014, Jane was involved (with other professionals) in the first short Course Programme on Impact Evaluation at the LIDC. And, she has just completed in March 2015, an European Union funded project (initiated by her) on Global Health & Education involving 6 countries from Europe and Africa. She was the Country Coordinator for one of the participating countries.

As a believer in continuous Professional Development, Dr Jane likes challenges and loathes sitting in her comfort zone hence in July 2015, she successfully completed the CCF IMPACT Leadership in Public life Course of the UK Institute of Leadership and Management in collaboration with the UN, in Geneva, where the graduation took place.

Caring for others comes naturally to Dr Jane and that is why she is passionate about addressing the Health inequalities in our Communities as well as creating awareness on Sickle cell and other diseases that affect the ethnic Minorities in Europe and in Developing Countries.

In June 2007, she successful organised a meeting for her local MP David Lammy to brainstorm with Experts and Stakeholders from all over the UK, on how to improve medical care for sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassemia sufferers in the UK.

As a Political Activist, she also tabled a motion on sickle cell disease which led to discussions and debates on the subject at Political Party conferences in 2007 and also in the UK Houses of Parliament. Sickle cell disease was thus moved from the margins to the mainstream – a health matter currently high on the UK political agenda and beyond. Jane also co–managed (voluntarily) for over two years and on behalf of the Sickle Cell Society, a Project to write a book ‘Standards for the Clinical Care of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease in the UK.’ This she did in collaboration with World Renowned Experts on the subject, Service Users, the Department of Health (DoH), the UK Forum on Haemoglobin Disorders and other Voluntary Organisations. The project was a very good example of working in partnership with others and a step forward towards addressing health inequalities as the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown wrote in the Foreword of the Publication. The Book was successfully launched in the Houses of Parliament on 9^th July 2008. And, this led to the birth of an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) of MPs working with the Sickle Cell Society, to look at how these standards of care could be successfully implemented in the NHS – a group she chaired briefly in Parliament from its inception/formation. This book now serves as the yardstick for the management of SCD in the UK and indeed the world over.

She has extensive knowledge and experience in General Patients’ care, Drugs Development and monitoring, Counselling, Public Health and Community activities, Health Services Management and Development Projects locally, nationally and internationally. She also has extensive experience in the voluntary sector. She was a Trustee of Haringey Advisory Group on Alcohol (HAGA), Member of the Management Committee for Hill Homes and Age Concern Haringey as well as a Member of the Reach Organization for many years. Truly, she is an accomplished and notable Interdisciplinary Practitioner. She was also a Member of the NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Steering Group and the NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Evaluation and Quality Assurance Advisory Groups and Member, Steering Group of the Single Equality Scheme for the NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Programme.

Highlights

2011 – Voted by the African Diaspora as one of the “Top 20 Inspirational Professional Women of the African Diaspora in Europe”.

Member – Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases

Member – All Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS & NTDs.

2010 -2012 Consultant to Sierra Leone Cancer Charity (VIJI) 

2010 Local Government Authority nominated School Governor and a Shadow Councillor in North London

2010 – Adviser to the Ministry of Health, led a delegation of experts from the UK in the Management of sickle cell and thalassaemia to Bahrain to advice on improved services for affected individuals.

2009- Member of the Trial Steering Committee for the SWIM (Sickle cell with Ibuprofen and morphine) trial with MRC CTU London,

2008-2009 – Chairperson; Sickle Cell Society

2006 – 2010 Consultant – Islington Primary Care Trust, NHS England –

2006 – Trustee -Sickle Cell Society 

1982 to Present- Independent Global Health Consultant & Project Consultant