Ever since he left his native country of Nigeria in 1974, Dr. Godwin Onyema, M.D., has dreamed of giving back to the nation where he was raised.
Onyema, who received his medical degree from a university in Nigeria, has been a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in Chicago, Illinois, for more than 30 years. All that time, he held on to his vision and struggled to find the funds, time and space to build a world-class medical facility in his home state of Anambra, Nigeria.
Political and economic crises stymied his efforts until 1999, when a transition back to democracy brought greater stability to Nigeria. It was then that Godwin, together with his four children, Gozie, Afam, Ebele and Ncheta, decided on a formal plan of action. He assembled a team of brilliant workers and dedicated himself to making his dream a reality.
The result is the GEANCO Foundation, which derives its moniker from the first letter each Onyema family member’s name. The foundation is also a pro bono client of Mayer Brown and Ernst & Young, as well as being aligned with several prestigious universities, including Harvard, Georgetown and the University of Michigan. In addition to building the hospital in Anambra – which will be named after Godwin’s father, Augustine – the foundation is committed to the development and management of athletic, education and medical facilities throughout Nigeria.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa – nearly 1 in 5 Africans is Nigerian, though the life expectancy is only 47 years. The country is also home to the third-largest number of impoverished people in the world. Nigerians receive little in the way of developmental assistance, and the country’s health system recently ranked 187 out of 190 countries in a report by the World Health Organization.
The Augustine Memorial Hospital, which aims to address these problems, will provide the people of Nigeria with an outpatient facility, an AIDS, malaria and infectious disease treatment center, maternal and pediatric care units, and living quarters for the hospital staff. The second stage of development will add a surgical facility, a triage center, a trauma center and an emergency room, as well as various specialties such as dental surgery, ophthalmology, cardiology, urology and orthopedics. Finally, a third stage will add a cancer center, a burn unit and a dialysis clinic, among other specialized services. All of these services are sorely needed in West and Central Africa.
The doctors sitting on the GEANCO Foundation’s board have a combined medical experience totaling more than 200 years.
Mayer Brown was recently recognized for its Pro Bono work for LawWorks.