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“Dr. [Ade] Ojeniyi recently retired as Chief Physician and Medical Consultant at Copenhagen’s National University Hospital and holds various appointments at Denmark’s University Teaching Hospitals. One area of Dr. Ojeniyi’s work in recent years has been focused on drug addiction and HIV/AIDS-infected narcotic addicts. He has gravitated toward contributing his expertise and compassion to this sector because of the enormous burden yet inadequate resources in mental health to address this global societal problem.”

Dr. Ade Ojeniyi

Dear Distinguished AVOHS Members:

Yesterday morning, I was contacted by Signe Ojeniyi, Ade's daughter to inform me that he had passed away peacefully in his sleep in Copenhagen, Denmark. She wanted us to know without delay, because he was so deeply committed to One Health and she knew how important the recent Gold Headed Cane Award was to Ade's already decorated career.

I was introduced to Dr. Ade Ojeniyi by Dr. Steele in 2002, during the annual One Health Lecture in Houston, celebrating Dr Steele’s birthday and One Health. Dr. Ojeniyi attended this significant One Health event every year and continued following Dr. Steele’s death.  See: https://www.avma.org/news/american-veterinary-one-health-society-june-24-2024  and https://face2faceafrica.com/article/first-black-man-knighted-denmark.

Ade lived and embraced One Health, One Medicine, with far-reaching breadth and depth. He experienced One Health before the concept was coined while growing up in Nigeria where he observed the very close contact between domestic animals and humans in cities, towns and villages.  Seeing people and animals suffering from hunger and diseases, he was driven by his desire to improve the livelihoods of all living creatures. These memorable experiences married with his humanity, compassion and desire to serve, led him to receive doctorate degrees in both Veterinary and Human Medicine in Denmark. In addition, he earned a Diploma in International Health, and is a certified Diplomate of Chinese Acupuncture, with application in the therapy of both Humans and Animals - another illustration of his commitment to One Health.

In 1977, Dr. Ojeniyi met Dr. Steele in Ibadan Nigeria, instantly becoming a student, colleague and friend when Dr. Steele visited the Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan. At that time, Dr. Ojeniyi was a Medical Research Fellow at the institute, working on his double PhD. research program. He shared with Dr. Steele his vision and plan to harness expertise across Veterinary and Human Medicine with a concentration on the prevention, control and treatment of infectious diseases. Dr. Steele enthusiastically supported Dr Ojeniyi’ s ambition, vision and dedication to One Health, and continued to encourage him and serve as a life-long advisor, colleague and friend.

In 2000, Dr Ojeniyi was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the School of Public Health affiliated with the Center for Infectious Diseases. In 2018, he was conferred with the prestigious Knighthood, and awarded the Knight Cross of The Dannebrog Order of Denmark. In her Knighthood & Knight Cross Award tributes, the Queen cited Dr. Ojeniyi`s work in Denmark and in Greenland to promote the One Health platform. She referenced his twin-sided work in Veterinary and Human Medicine, including how he spearheaded the vaccination of all Greenlandic adolescent girls and boys against Cervical Cancer, thus making Greenland the first country in the world to vaccinate all adolescent girls and boys against the scourge of Cervical Cancer and Genital Warts.

Dr. Ojeniyi recently retired as Chief Physician and Medical Consultant at Copenhagen’s National University Hospital and holds various appointments at Denmark’s University Teaching Hospitals. One area of Dr. Ojeniyi’s work in recent years has been focused on drug addiction and HIV/AIDS-infected narcotic addicts. He has gravitated toward contributing his expertise and compassion to this sector because of the enormous burden yet inadequate resources in mental health to address this global societal problem.

Dr. Ojeniyi’s accomplishments and commitment to both animal and human health will not be forgotten, but carried on through the work of other members of the AVOHS. My sorrow is comforted by the memory of Ade's appearance in Austin last summer to receive his Steele-Meyer GHC award, despite dealing with severe cardiac disease.  We will remember Ade's lifelong commitment to One Health along with other dear colleagues we have lost at our meeting next year at the AVMA convention meeting in Washington DC. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Karen Becker, DVM, MPH

President of the AVOHS

 

Respectively submitted.

John Poppe, DVM, MPH, MA
AVOHS Executive Director
exec.dir@avohsociety.org
210-749-0714
American Veterinary One Health Society (avohsociety.org)
www.facebook.com/embracingOneHealthsince1964