At the meeting, I listened to the way people were arguing, talking about the importance of water, electricity, infrastructure – because they had work… - Olaitan Soyannwo

I was a young doctor, and I was having my first baby at the hospital where I worked. In those days there was hardly any monitoring, just an earpiece to hear the baby’s heart. So the C-section came too late, and my son was severely asphyxiated. They resuscitated aggressively – it would have been unheard of, for a young house officer to lose her baby.

Transparency and commitment: that’s what yielded dividends, and this work is life-saving. It’s not just restricted to surgery and anaesthesia – a pulse oximeter can help anyone in critical condition, fighting for life.

It’s a very good thing to have in place, but the problem is always implementation. So you learn from experience. You need cooperation to make it work – and attitudes are always difficult to change. You introduce it slowly, you hope people will develop interest.