Nigerian physician Dimie Ogoina makes Time's 100 most influential people list

Ogoina earned his place on the illustrious list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023 courtesy of his early discovery of a new presentation of Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) in Nigeria in 2017.

In a short profile published on Thursday, April 13, 2023, the American news magazine celebrated Ogoina for his unwavering resolve to document and chart a way forward in the event of a global outbreak of the disease.

Recognising the importance and potential implications for the global spread of the disease, Ogoina sounded an alarm, and even though his message was largely ignored, he continued to document the potential for sexual transmission of Mpox and published the data in high-impact scientific journals.

The world finally paid attention to his message after the 2022 global outbreak of Mpox and his insight became critically important to developing better strategies to prevent and control outbreaks.

Ogoina, a longtime passionate champion for global health equity, has often made the point that Mpox isn't a new disease and that the last global outbreak could have been avoided if the world had paid attention sooner.

Pulse reports that the physician is the second Nigerian on Time's list of 100 Most Influential People in 2023 after the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Time describes the president-elect as a longtime political power broker, who helped Nigeria to restore democracy in 1999 after fighting military rule.

Dimie Ogoina, MBBS, FWACP, FMCP, FACP, FIDSA, is an infectious diseases physician at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

He also doubles as the professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Ogoina is the current Chief Medical Director of Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital. Also, he currently serves as president of the Nigeria Infectious Diseases Society as well as the chair of Subject Matter Experts, Community of Practice for COVID-19 Case Managers in Nigeria.

As the deputy chair of the National Health Research Committee in Nigeria, Ogoina and his team at Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital diagnosed and managed the first case of monkeypox in Nigeria during the 2017 outbreak.