My first encounter with Dr. Benjamin Chukwudum Nnamdi Anyene was in 2015 while doing a story on routine immunisation.
Dr. Anyene was then Chairman of the National Vaccine Financing Task Team (NIFT) which advocated sustainable immunisation financing in Nigeria; and he contributed significantly to my story.
Thenceforth, I interviewed him at health events and sought his expert view on stories about the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), funding of the health sector, immunisation financing, local vaccine production, implementation of the National Health Act, and polio among others.
He was always willing to share his wealth of knowledge, even on short notice, and also assisted with links to other medical practitioners.
I was shocked at the end of 2019 when I saw a notice of his death in a WhatsApp group. His death shook the health community where he put in about 40 years of service.
Some months earlier, Dr. Anyene was part of a coalition under the aegis of the Nigeria SAM Advocacy Group that paid a courtesy call to Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust and other titles, soliciting support in sensitising Nigerians and decision makers on Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
During the visit, Dr. Anyene observed that children under five years lacking appropriate nutrition ended up with mental deficit and other negative effects.
He, therefore, called on Daily Trust to drive a conversation that engaged the average Nigerian about health and to organise health conferences that would produce results with an action plan that assigned roles and monitored performance within timeframes.
While decrying the poor funding of the health sector, he called on the media to continue to speak truth to people in power.
Yesterday, Monday, June 8, would have been his 69th birthday. He was born on June 8, 1951, in the old Eastern Region and Died on December 29, 2019, in New York, United States and was buried on March 12, 2020, in Anambra State.
Today, we pay tribute to this great health and civil society icon who was a loud voice in calls for health sector reforms to ensure quality healthcare service delivery in Nigeria.
Dr. Anyene owned a private hospital before he was appointed Commissioner for Health in Anambra State. He was board Chairman of the Health Reform Organisation of Nigeria (HERFON) for years and played major roles in the revitalisation of Primary Healthcare in Nigeria, enactment of the National Health Act 2014, production of the Nigeria Patients’ Bill of Rights and drafting of the National Immunisation Trust Fund Bill.
His passion for an improved Nigerian health system saw him engaging international health organisations, government officials, civil societies, the media and the public. It also saw him organising and participating in health awareness walks, workshops and forums.
He held so many leadership positions in the health sector and was involved in projects funded by institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Programme on Immunisation (NPI), FHI 360, Health Economic Project Network for Africa (HEPNET) and Institute for Health Sector Development, United Kingdom, to name a few.
Aside health, he left memorable imprints while holding leadership positions in the political, sports, religious and financial spheres.
Mrs. Moji Makanjuola, a veteran journalist said she met and worked closely with Dr. Anyene during the days of polio vaccine rejection in some parts of the North.
She said, “He went to every part to speak to people across board on the cost effectiveness and potency of polio vaccines. He was a resilient man who loved his country and was ready to work as a public health expert in every way. He spoke truth to power and was a reporter’s delight. I could take him up on any topic anytime and he became my co-producer when we went out to the field with the way he drew my attention to key things. He was humble, accessible and true to what he believed in.
“The health sector has lost a good person, a professional and a man who believed and laboured despite challenges in the sector. He was resolute that things would be better.”
Mrs. Makanjuola who is also a former President of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), and Executive Director of the International Society of Media in Public Health (ISMPH) further said, “He was a stickler for time. For me, he represented a world of professionals that I will like to see in the health sector. He was God fearing and a committed family man. More than anything else, we have lost a catalyst. For those who truly profess love and respect for Dr. Anyene, the only way to keep his legacy is to speak truth to power. He had unbroken passion till he breathed his last. Good night Dr. Ben Anyene. Thank you for your service to all.”
Felix Abraham Obi, a health systems and policy expert, and one of Dr. Anyene’s mentees, described Dr. Anyene as a visionary health reformer who spoke truth to power.
He said Dr. Anyene was one of the key actors that technically supported the implementation of Prof. Eyitayo Lambo’s flagship Health Sector Reform Programme (2004–2007) and was the lead consultant for the development of the 2004 Revised National Health Policy and other sub-sectoral policies such as Public Private Partnership (2005), National Health Promotion Policy (2007) and Human Resources for Health (2008).
Obi further said, “Dr. Ben was also one of three Nigerians that developed the first draft of the National Health Bill which was submitted to the National Assembly in 2004 by President Olusegun Obasanjo. He also advocated through the platform of HERFON and the Health Sector Reform Coalition (HSRC).”
He added that Dr. Anyene publicly expressed frustration with the slow pace of implementing the National Health Act and did not realise his dream of having health facilities in the country obtain certificates of standards following their comprehensive accreditation as laid out in the National Health Act.
The Society for Telemedicine and eHealth in Nigeria described Dr. Anyene who was its Chairman, Strategic Advisory Board (SAB), as someone who had great compassion for the use of telemedicine in the health sector.
Dr. Anyene bagged a B.Sc. in Microbiology/Biochemistry from the California State University, Fresno, California, and then MBBS from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG).
He was married for more than three decades to Lady Ngozi K. Anyene and blessed with four children.
