FOETAL ORIGINS OF ADULT DISEASES– IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

Abstract

It was in November 2004. I had come as Secretary
General of the Nigerian Cardiac Society (NCS) with the
President, the late Professor Ademola O. Adebo to
represent the Society at the Board meeting of the
Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) which was holding in
the home of the world renowned Psychiatrist, the late
Professor Adeoye Lambo here in Ikeja. He was the
Chairman of the Board then. Others attending the
meeting included, Professor O. O. Akinkugbe, the
President of the NHF, Professor A. O. Falase and Dr.
Kingsley Akinroye who was the Executive Vice President.
We were early and there was time to exchange
pleasantries. Professor Lambo who had also just
completed his tenure as Deputy Director General of the
World Health Organization then, reached to his library
and pulled out a book which he announced with
excitement he had just received from the WHO. It was
titled – (you guessed right) – 'The foetal Origins of Adult
Diseases and Health'. The author was David Barker. I
was the most junior except for one in the gathering. So I
merely watched from the side lines the musings of these
'giants' over this book. Their comments and excitement
especially of Professor Lambo heightened my curiosity
and then I got my chance to see what the book was about
when Professor Adebo commented, we have a
Paediatrician among us and he should be looking at this
in our environment. The book was then handed to me and
I read the preface and introduction. It was a subject that
was completely new to me. Although I had already
developed and was already working on my primary
research focus, little did they know they had kindled a
candle in me that day that would become a more
embracing area of interest to me. It is of note that 11 years
later, I am back in the same Ikeja to talk about the same
subject. The fastidious, dogged, focused and steady
pursuit of targeted goals which I learnt from my mentor
Professor Femi Jaiyesimi has served me well in keeping
faith with this subject. I am thankful to LASUCOM for reawakening
my interest in the subject.