This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. He talks about preventing chronic diseases in developing countries, with a particular focus on diabetes, one of the fastest growing health challenges in Africa.
After working as an internist in southern Nigeria, Utibe Effiong was inspired to look at the broader determinants of health and healthcare in the developing world. Nigeria’s booming oil industry accounts for more than 90 percent of the country’s earnings, but is also increasingly harmful to public health due to a series of environmental and occupational disasters. Now specializing in environmental health and infectious disease epidemiology, Effiong says he is working toward a future “where the exploitation of the earth’s energy resources does not hinder the development of our societies.” Effiong recently obtained the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.