A Nigerian, Dr Osahon Enabulele, has been inaugurated as the President of the World Medical Association, the first African physician to do so.

Enabulele, who had once lead the Nigerian Medical Association, is a Consultant in Family Medicine at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State.

He was formally sworn-in as the President of the WMA for 2022 to 2023 on Friday, October 7, 2022 at the Annual General Assembly of the association held in Berlin, Germany.

In a post tweeted to his Twitter page, @drenabulele, Enabulele wrote, “Congratulations to me. Today the 7th of October 2022 I was inaugurated as President of the World Medical Association at the Annual General Assembly held in Berlin, Germany.

In his inaugural address, Enabulele called for urgent steps to invest more in the well-being, working and living conditions of physicians and other health professionals to reduce or eliminate physical and mental burn-out of physicians, as well as the brain drain of physicians and other health professionals, especially from already under-served countries.

 “The safety of physicians and other health care providers was one of the four key lessons that the world and the medical profession should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, the other three being the need to build resilient health systems, human resources for health, and the public communication and engagement of physicians.”

The outgoing WMA President, Dr. Heidi Stensmyren in her valedictory speech, said that thousands of physicians were leaving the profession early.

Sharing her concern about the growing violence against physicians, often involving patients or relatives as well as attacks on healthcare personnel in conflicts.  ‘’Healthcare is a vital part of society, and healthcare workers should be considered “neutral” in any conflict.’’

The World Medical Association is the independent confederation of national medical associations with 112 constituent members representing more than ten million physicians.