Mr. Osotimehin, Nigeria’s former health minister and former head of Nigeria’s aids agency, NACA, died in the early hours of Monday.
Born February 6, 1949, the 68-year-old was also a former Provost of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan.
He was appointed the fourth Executive Director of UNFPA in November 2010 and was reappointed in August 2014.
UNFPA har altid stået centralt i dansk udviklingsbistand og udviklingsminister Ulla Tørnæs (V) var omgående ude med mindeord på twitter.
"Gjorde stort indtryk på os"
F.eks. er Danmark blandt de nationer, som "fylder hullet" efter Donald Trumps USA og hans regerings neddrosling af midler til FN-systemet.
Tørnæs skriver:
"Det er med stor sorg, jeg modtager nyheden om, at Dr Osotimehin i en alt for tidlig alder er død. Han var en stærk partner for Danmark i den globale kamp for kvinders og pigers ret til selv at bestemme over egen krop og eget liv".
"I mine møder med Dr Osotimehin gjorde hans store engagement og viden om den sag, han arbejdede så intenst for, altid stort indtryk på mig".
"Under SheDecides konferencen i Bruxelles i marts, der som reaktion på Global Gag Rule havde til formål at mobilisere politisk og finansiel opbakning til kvinders sundhed og rettigheder, kan jeg huske, at Dr Osotimehin udtalte, at den store energi, det store engagement og de mange lande og mennesker, der stod op for verdens mest sårbare kvinder, havde gjort dagen til en af de bedste i hans liv”.
”Dr. Osotimehins død er et stort tab for UNFPA og for den internationale kamp for kvinders og pigers rettigheder; en kamp, som Danmark sammen med ligesindede organisationer og lande vil føre videre” slutter Ulla Tørnæs.
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin (1949 – 2017) var lægeuddannet. Han var leder af Nigerias nationale enhed for AIDS-kontrol, og efterfølgende landets sundhedsminister inden han i 2011 blev eksekutivdirektør for UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund.
UNFPA begræder tabet i disse mindeord:
“This is a devastating loss for UNFPA and for the people, especially women, girls and youth, he dedicated his life to serving, starting from when he became a doctor in Nigeria. UNFPA expresses its deep sympathy to his family and prays that they have the fortitude to bear this great loss.”
“Dr. Osotimehin was bold and never afraid of a challenge and his strong leadership helped keep the health and rights of the world’s women and girls high on the global agenda. He understood that the world’s 1.8 billion young people are truly its greatest hope for the future.”
"Champion for kvinder og unge"
UNFPA is dedicated to continuing Dr. Osotimehin’s grand vision for women and young people and will continue to stand up for the human rights and dignity of everyone, particularly the most vulnerable adolescent girls.
He vigorously championed three major transformative goals of zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet demand for family planning and the elimination of harmful practices against women and girls. UNFPA urges all to honour his legacy by rallying around those global goals.
Dr. Osotimehin, a physician and public health expert, became UNFPA’s fourth Executive Director on 1 January 2011, with the rank of United Nations Under-Secretary-General.
Dr. Osotimehin qualified as a doctor from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1972, and went to the University of Birmingham, England, where he got a doctorate in medicine in 1979.
He was appointed Professor at the University of Ibadan in 1980 and headed the Department of Clinical Pathology before being elected Provost of the College of Medicine in 1990.
Dr. Osotimehin received the Nigerian national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger in December 2005. He led several councils, including in the World Economic Forum.
He was married, had five children and several grandchildren.
