SECRETARY General of the Nigerian Cardiac Society and serving Abia State Health Commissioner, Dr Okechukwu Sam Ogah and two other Nigerian cardiologists were honoured with the Young Investigators Award by the World Congress of Cardiology at the 2012 edition of the Congress held from April 12 to 18, 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The award followed researches the trio separately presented at the congress for which they were given them prizes.
Ogah was a Consultant Cardiologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan before his appointment as Abia State Health Commissioner. The two others honoured are Dr Olukemi Ige, a Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at the Jos University Teaching Hospital and Dr Umar Adamu, a Consultant Cardiologist at the Federal Medical Centre Bida in Niger State.
Ogah researched on 'The changing patterns of heart diseases in Nigeria : Data From The Ibadan Out-Patient Cardiac Registry'; Dr Ige on 'The QTc Interval In HIV Positive Nigerian Children' while Dr Adamu's research was on ' Serum Lipid Profile In Newly Presenting Nigerians With Systemic Hypertension'.
The congress featured as another highlight, the election of another Nigerian doctor, Dr Kingsley Akinloye as Vice President of the World Heart Federation.
Speaking with The Guardian on their recognition and award by the world professional body, Ogah said they were very delighted by it, adding that it will serve as further impetus for them to conduct more researches that would address the health needs of the people in the area of heart diseases.
On how this impacts on health care delivery in Abia State, he said: "We have been able to define the spectrum of non-communicable diseases in Abia State at communities levels which will help the state in policy issues as regards non-communicable diseases.
"We now know the burden of cardiovascular risk factors namely cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, vegetable and fruit intake, prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, overweight and obesity, road traffic safety as well as healthcare-seeking behavior of Abia people."
The Guardian