Friends and well wishers of Lady Mrs Janet Ngene from far and near gathered at the country home of Late Hon. D. O. Ngene in Amechi Obuoffia Awkunanaw, a suburb of Enugu on 23/02/25 in celebration of her 77th birthday.
The celebration, which brought to the fore the unsung song of an amazon, of a Florence Nightingale, kicked off with a church service in David Ngene Memorial Methodist Church, Amechi Obuoffia, after which guests gathered at the palatial home of the Ngenes for entertainment.
Lady Janet Ngene was born on February 2, 1948 in Umuatugboma, Akegbe Ugwu, a suburb of Enugu, the then capital of colonial South Eastern Nigeria.
She trained as a nurse and midwife, bagging a diploma in midwifery in the UK.
From1964 when she started nursing practice, she has extensively traversed the whole gamut of the nursing and midwifery profession and more! working in several health establishments. At various times, she had worked at General Hospital, Udi and Oji River, respectively, Massey Street Children’s Hospital and Laffia Infirmary both in Lagos, Eastern Nigerian Medical Centre, Enugu, and Institute of Management and Technology (IMT Enugu) Clinic. In 1976, she worked in the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital Aiylesbury, England, UK before she flew back to Nigeria.
Perhaps, it may not be wide of the mark to say that her most outstanding contributions in the healthcare delivery for thousands of people south of Enugu and other areas spanning parts of Nkanuland and Awgu was recorded from 8 May, 1982, when the Hospital, Chumaoke Hospital and Maternity, Obuoffia Awkunanaw, was commissioned. Prior to this, she had started, in 1978, a one-bedded hospital which later became 8 bedded. As the oak sleeps in the acorn, this later metamorphosed into the bigger outfit of Chumaoke Hospital and Maternity. Records show that the Hospital attended to over 17000 women, and more than 8,000 children delivered therein.
At a time, the facility was accredited to train nurses. Doctors and other medical professionals on NYSC were posted to the outfit for their primary assignments. Of interest is the fact that former Enugu State governor and a world renowned authority in foetal medicine, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani, delivered his first baby as a doctor in this hospital in 1985 when he took up a job in the hospital. The French multilateral health charity, *Doctors Without Borders* (Medicine Sans Frontieres) that provides humanitarian medical care occasionally sent medical teams to partner with the hospital in its charity health work.
Similarly, and in furtherance to the services rendered by the hospital, she floated and operated the NGO, *Community Health Initiative Nigeria* that goes with the acronym, *CHI NIGERIA*, with a focus on health education, improved water supply, effective sanitation; and touching lives with a view to reducing maternal/infant mortality rate in undeserved communities across rural Nigeria. In this vein, and leveraging on the NGO facilities, she collaborated with UNICEF and WATERAID. She was a UNICEF Consultant on Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) of Malaria in Pregnancy (MIP) having attended the UNICEF organised regional training of the trainer workshop in Ghana in 2003. She was involved in the step down of the IPT/MIP training programme in most of the states of Nigeria as organised by UNICEF. She is also a UNICEF trained health facility assessor, counsellor and change agent.
Besides her healthcare work and charity activities she, twice, served as Supervisory Councillor for Health in the old Nkanu Local Government Area of Enugu State. She was a member of Governing Council of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital of Bayero University, BUK, Kano. She also served for 4 years as a Council Member in the Governing Council of Enugu State University of Science Technology (ESUT).
As a public intellectual, Lady Ngene authored two books; one is titled, *Rural Health Care* (A glimpse of Service to Humanity) published in 2003, highlighting the story of her health care delivery services to the rural population since 1978; and, the other, *Aids to Practical Obstetrics Practice* (A text Book for Nurses/Midwives/Medical Students) published in 2009. She was a member of the Board of National library of Nigeria.
Arguably, Lady Janet Ngene is the Florence Nightingale of Nkanuland having, for half a century plus a decade, burried herself on safe motherhood – integrated maternal and infant healthcare delivery services, malaria in pregnancy, immunization, family planning, hygiene education/sanitation, which form the bulk of the challenges that confronted the vast population of Nigerians who are orphaned by economics.
She is the widow of Late Hon. D.O. Ngene, who was a member of old Anambra state House of Assembly (1979 to 1983) and a one time Commissioner for Finance in Enugu State.
Some of the guests spotted at the occasion included the former Nigeria Ambassador to Poland, Gen. Chris Ugwu, ex-Enugu State Commissioner, Barr. Emeka Okeke and his wife, Dr Suhanyah, a Consultant Ophthalmologist/ Ophthalmic Surgeon. Some traditional rulers from Nkanuland were also present. The Chairman of Nkanu West Local Government Area Traditional Rulers Council, HRH Eze (Barr) Obiora Igwesi, HRH Igwe Ferdinand Ukwu, the traditional ruler of Amechi Obuoffia, and others graced the occasion. Also present were former Enugu State Permanent Secretary, Sir Emma Agbo, Chief Ijego Ukwu, ex-Director, Enugu State Civil Service, Chief Akonam Aneke, Enugu businessman and Chief Executive, Quarter Press Nigeria Ltd., and a host of others that included children who were born in the hospital who have grown into adults and prominent people in different walks of life who were on hand to pay homage to the amazon.
