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Ola Orekunrin: Meet The Nigerian Medical Doctor That Flies Aircraft To Attend To Patients Across West Africa
Ola Orekunrin is the founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria. The company is West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service.
She is a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and healthcare entrepreneur.
She has committed herself to bring trauma care to the most remote parts of Western Africa with her company’s air ambulance service.
Ola was motivated to start the company after her younger sister tragically died whilst travelling in Nigeria. The local hospital was unable to manage her sickle cell anaemia condition. As a result, Ola and her family started to search for an air ambulance. This was so that her sick sister could be safely transported to a suitable medical facility in the country.
The tragedy for the family was that there were no air ambulances to be found, even though the search took them from Nigeria to Ghana, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, and across West Africa.
The only one that was found was in South Africa, 5 hours away. However, by the time the logistics had been arranged, Ola’s sister had died of her condition.
Ola graduated as a medical doctor from the University Of York in the UK and is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.
Ola currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria, where she operates her company. She has earned a reputation as a national expert in disaster medicine and pre-hospital care.
Her company has been featured on various local TV and radio stations as well as the BBC and CNN.
Ola Orekunrin has lectured on entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is also a TED fellow and has been honoured by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Young Global Leader. She is also a recipient of several awards and recognition.
