Exceptional medical doctors and public health experts, Dr. Ibrahim Wada, Dr. Yibala Akpama Edimek, and Dr. (Mrs) Ime Okon be listed in “Changemakers: 100 Nigerians Leading Change” in the same year in the five-year history of the compendium.
Their nominations met the criteria set for listing among which is an individual who has led or participated in initiatives for the betterment of others and inspires others to engage in social development in their communities; and also who has made a significant impact on community and, through their work, exemplifies the core values of selfless service.
Dr. Wada is Nigeria’s foremost Gynaecologist and fertility expert who has transformed healthcare delivery in Nigeria, and CEO of Nisa Medical Group,
Dr. Wada, in 1994, pioneered the first government-verified In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) live birth in Abuja (Baby Hanatu). He has also overseen more than 5,000 IVF births in Nigeria, offering hope to families facing infertility challenges.
In the public sector, Dr. Wada led the team responsible for Nigeria’s first IVF birth at the National Hospital, Abuja and has supported the development of IVF centres in Port Harcourt, Bauchi, and Maiduguri – Nigeria.
In 2018, Dr. Wada led the team that achieved Nigeria’s first sickle cell-free birth using preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) – a first for West Africa. More than 100 carrier couples have
benefited from this life-changing technology.
Beyond fertility care, Dr. Wada has made remarkable strides in hospital management, steering the
successful public-private partnership (PPP) that has transformed Garki Hospital Abuja into a model healthcare facility. Under his guidance, Nisa Premier and Garki Hospitals have become leading centres for Residency Training Programs, producing more than 60 specialists in various
fields. This has been extended to the establishment of the first certified IVF training for gynaecologists, ensuring the next generation of specialists can continue to advance reproductive
healthcare in West Africa.
Committed to community health, Dr. Wada has championed regular outreach programs providing
free medical care to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and victims of other disasters. Through
the Baby Hanatu Foundation, his team also offers free healthcare services to the childless and indigent.
Dr. Yibala Akpama Edimek is an accomplished Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist, widely recognized for her exceptional contributions to maternal and reproductive health in Nigeria and beyond.
She is an award-winning physician who came tops in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the West African College of Surgeons in April 2024. Her stellar performance earned her the Professor Bello Osagie Prize for Overall Best Candidate and the Prof. OladipoPrize for Best Female Candidate, prestigious accolades that reflect her deep clinical insight and academic excellence. Impressively, she passed all her exams on the first attempt.
Dr. Yibala is a passionate advocate for women’s health. She has led multidisciplinary teams, mentored junior doctors, and contributed to impactful research. She actively participates in community outreach programs, offering free cervical cancer screenings and reproductive health education.
Dr. Yibala Akpama Edimek is a beacon of excellence and an inspirational figure in medicine—empowering communities, advancing women’s health, and setting new standards of excellence in healthcare delivery.
Dr. (Mrs) Ime Okon is a medical doctor with almost 25 years of experience practicing medicine in Nigeria.
She is a public servant with Lagos State, President-Elect MWAN Lagos, currently MD/CEO, Ibeju-Lekki General Hospital, an transformational leader who within a very short period (less than one year, has brought many significant changes in the hospital including establishment of a new dental and eye clinic, and a lot of community-engagement leading to increase in demand for already existing services especially in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Paediatrics)
She is an astute Public Health Physician (with special interest in Infectious Diseases), with postgraduate degrees and diplomas in Public Health.
Dr Okon is an Epidemiologist (graduate of the Field Epid program of Nigeria-NFELTP). Worked in Mainland Hospital (formerly Infectious Diseases Hospital) for 5 years 2011-2015, including the period of Ebola response.
She played an active role in Active Case Finding in the Epid/Surveillance Pillar of the EOC Response for COVID 19 especially during the first wave of the pandemic.
As a very service-oriented individual, she happens to be the first female Secretary of NMA Lagos since inception in 1960 and the only female to have held such a role till date.
“Changemakers: 100 Nigerians Leading Change” is a biographical compendium biographical compendium that profiles outstanding Nigerians who, by their creative ideas or actions, illuminate the atmosphere with their incandescent ideas and creative work, providing solutions to the perennial challenges of Nigeria.
These Changemakers represent a streak of light in a country darkened by malfeasance, and it is their inspirational stories of change that are documented in this compendium published by Profiles & Biographies
The compendium containing the profiles of all those that made the sterling list is published in www.livesonline.ng, the media partners of Profiles & Biographies
