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… - Olaitan Soyannwo

I got passionate about it because I remember the way we were practicing in my country. Because it was the most advanced tertiary institution, we were handling all the major cases, and it used to be a nightmare. There was no monitoring equipment, and it was just too stressful. When the patient is under anaesthesia your own heart rate is constantly going up; it’s like working in a dark tunnel. Stress is violent on your own body. Your brain is suffering, your heart is suffering, you can feel it – your whole body, after a major procedure. You find that you can’t sleep for days because you are worrying about that patient.

When I finished talking, the whole meeting just went silent, silent. And then there was applause. I still remember vividly, and I think I will always remember. I’ve been a teacher all my working life – I wasn’t nervous. But that’s the first time I talked about my son publicly. And not at just any meeting: at a high level international WHO meeting.

I sat there quietly in Geneva, listening, and thought – do these people really know what they’re talking about? I worked in a hospital all my life, and in return I got a son who suffered oxygen deprivation. And now I’m looking after him, and living with it. That’s what prompted me to speak.