Dr Adadevoh Biography | Profile

Five Years On! Remembering Dr. Stella Adadevoh Who Saved Nigeria From The 2014 Ebola Outbreak

Ebun
August 19, 2019
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2014 Ebola Outbreak Nigeria, Stella Adadevoh, Stella Adadevoh Biography, Stella Adadevoh Ebola Nigeria, Stella Adadevoh Patrick Sawyer, Stella Adadevoh profile
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Five years have passed since Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh sacrificed her life to save Nigeria from the Ebola epidemic.

She was indeed a heroine who saved Nigeria from what could have been a major health crisis.

Sadly, she died in the process on August 19, 2014.

Here are a few notable facts worth knowing about her as the world remembers her today.

Late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh Honoured By ECOWAS For Role In Fighting Ebola Virus

Early Life

Ameyo Stella Shade Adadevoh was born on Saturday, 27th October 1956 in Lagos, Nigeria to Professor Babatunde Kwaku Adadevoh. Ameyo, the first of four children, began her academic career at Mainland Preparatory Primary School in Yaba, Lagos in 1961. In 1962, Ameyo’s parents temporarily relocated to Boston, Massachusetts in the United States of America where Ameyo spent two years in school.

Upon the family’s return to Nigeria in 1964, she continued her education at Corona School Yaba in Lagos, Nigeria until 1968 and then began secondary school at Queens School Ibadan, Nigeria where she finished in 1974 with a distinction of honors in her West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Exams. Following secondary school, Ameyo completed one year of Preliminary Programme studies at the University of Lagos.

Career

Her professional career began with a residency at Lagos University Teaching Hospital from 1983 to 1988 after which she earned the West African College of Physicians and Surgeons credential.

Following her residency, Ameyo worked as a consultant at Lagos University Teaching Hospital until 1991 when she earned a prestigious British Council Scholarship to continue her education abroad. From 1991 to 1993, Ameyo completed her Fellowship in Endocrinology at Hammersmith Hospital of the Imperial College in London, United Kingdom.

Upon completion of her education, Ameyo worked for more than two decades doing what she loved best: healing the sick.

Accreditation and Death

She is credited with having curbed a wider spread of the Ebola virus in Nigeria by placing the patient zero, Patrick Sawyer, in quarantine despite pressures from the Liberian government.

She is known for preventing the Nigerian index case from leaving the hospital at the time of diagnosis, thereby playing a key role in curbing the spread of the virus in Nigeria. On 4 August 2014, it was confirmed that she had tested positive for Ebola virus disease and was being treated.

Adadevoh died in the afternoon of 19 August 2014 following her contact with Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian national who brought the Ebola virus to Nigeria.

Adadevoh, who headed the treatment team reportedly declined to discharge Sawyer despite pressure from his employers to allow the Liberian to travel to Calabar for a conference. Very much unlike what some others in her position could have done, she quarantined Sawyer, contacted relevant authorities, and ensured the provision of protective materials and Ebola educational material for the hospital staff.