Dear Mansagians
May 2026  has been a very busy month with the successfulhosting of the 16th Annual Education Symposium, Galadima Lecture and Charity Gala and the excellent opportunity for networking amongst Paediatricians of Nigerian Heritage at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Annual Conference. Below is an excerpt from the President’s Address to MANSAG members at the Symposium
It is with immense pleasure that I welcome you to the historic ship building city of Newcastle for our 2026 16th Annual Education Symposium. In particular I welcome Her Excellency Ambassador Professor Olufolake Abdulrazak The First Lady of Kwara State and The Chair of the National First Ladies Forum of Nigeria and Founder of Ajike Foundation and Dr Matthew Sowemimo the Chair of Sickle Cell Society UK and all our guests sponsors partners and delegates – Those who have come for each of the last 15 symposia and those coming to their very first MANSAG National event! On behalf of our dear organisation MANSAG I welcome you.
I am grateful to our reborn MANSAG Northeast led by Dr Franklin Eleazu and the local organising committee ably chaperoned by Dr Udoka Onyechere, for putting together a rich, stimulating and exciting programme of academic activities this weekend for our members, partners, collaborators, friends and delegates. I am very grateful to all our faculty, facilitators, researchers, applicants for our various awards and all the delegates for making this symposium themed, ‘Boosting Capacity’ a memorable, digitally enhanced networking and learning event for everyone.
Newcastle is integral to the DNA of MANSAG for several reasons, especially for the programme designed for you this weekend. In our midst today is Dr Nnenna Cookey, one of the founding members of MANSAG. In the days before online Zoom and Team meetings, WhatsApp and emails, her passion and dedication meant that MANSAG finances were brilliantly managed and our membership grew. Just outside Newcastle is a roman fort called Segedunum, an archaeological ruin that showcases the ancient links between Newcastle, Teeside shipbuilding industry and its care for international immigrant populations, a topical issue bearing in mind some of the recent conversations about post graduate medical training in the United Kingdom and global health workforce immigration. I am also the Link executive committee member for MANSAG Northeast so have rejoiced specially with the emotions of the rebirth of a long dormant chapter.
Today’s symposium is quite packed. You will be forgiven if you feel torn between attending one session whilst forgoing another more interesting one. We will have state of the art plenary lectures on Medical Genetics, Artificial Intelligence, Global Health, Cultural Transitions and Navigating our Emotional landscape by experts in the field. We have workshops designed to ensure that all our delegates leave the symposium with new skills and networks that will directly impact on their work. We will help you to present your work during the sessions for abstract presentations and afterwards mentor you to get your work published afterwards in renowned journals.
The symposium also has opportunities for free publication clinics with renowned editors and authors, an artistic performance in Medical Humanities, a specially commissioned poem by a Mansagian for MANSAG and opportunities for MANSAG members to develop links with Laerdal Global (Norway), Sickle Cell Society (UK), the 36 states of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Healthcare infrastructure (DHII 2026).
Today we will announce our 2026/27 Education Travel Fellowship Award Winners in undergraduate and post graduate categories, acknowledge the efforts that our budding researchers have put in to make our symposium rich and varied with their abstracts and acknowledge for the first time the amazing contributions of health professionals of Nigerian heritage in the research space with our new Research Recognition Awards.
Of course, we will also celebrate the pioneering work of one of our founding members Dr Alfa Sa’adu with the Galadima Lecture, given by the fourth president of MANSAG, Professor Dilly O.C Anumba with generous contributions about his life and work from his wife Dr Diane Macaulay and family. This evening, we will dance the night away and crucially strengthen our bonds with each other.
You will be amazed to learn that your ninth executive committee is at the halfway stage of our three-year tenure. It is a good time to reflect on the mandate we received from you and what we have done with it.
Dr Mo Akindolie, a recent Commonwealth Harkness Fellowship Alumni on Leadership in Healthcare observed that in the past 18 months, MANSAG has become more strategic in the relationships it has made as it positions itself as the authentic voice of healthcare professionals of Nigerian heritage living and working in the United Kingdom.
Since our tenure, we have more than doubled our paid membership subscriptions, set up several mutually beneficial sponsorship partnerships, redesigned our website www.mansag.org, made our chapters more active and resourced them to care for our members.
Since our new website was launched in July 2025, we have welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors from the UK and countries as far away as China, United States, Singapore and of course Nigeria.
Our website has facilities to grow a network of like-minded professional communities. I encourage you to avail yourself of this function so we can mentor each other as we develop our careers and aspire to excellence here in the UK.
In the past 18 months we have ensured that each paid up member has a unique membership number. This enables them to access to a wide variety of membership benefits from our partners such as UK home mortgages, investment opportunities in UK and Nigeria,  healthcare for our families in Nigeria and discounted flights to Nigeria… And unlimited welfare support.
MANSAG is building on our longstanding commitment to strengthen our advocacy work for our members here in the UK and in Nigeria, especially in the context of the recent changes of postgraduate medical training in the UK are developing our advocacy work – The collaboration with Sickle Cell Society, Partnership with GMC and engagement with UK Royal Colleges and the Nigerian Health Institutions will position us to be the authentic voice of healthcare professionals of Nigerian Heritage living and working in the UK
MANSAG is also leading the effort for those of us in the diaspora to give back – to strengthen the health systems in Nigeria with our leadership of the Diaspora Health Impact Initiative 2026. A recent report by the All Party Parliamentary Group highlighted that the UK has benefitted about 14 Billion pounds from training costs of international healthcare workforce when you consider the contribution of international workforce to the NHS. We have an opportunity to influence and shape a new global strategy of co investment in health system in source countries by destination countries. Let us not lose it.
Our chapters have become more active and visible. MANSAG Northeast, held its first session in Autumn 2025 andMANSAG Scotland was launched in Spring 2026. MANSAG Wales has just formed its Chapter leadership committee. MANSAG Manchester will be hosting an education symposium this summer to complement our national symposium.
Our various national sub – committees are also doing excellent work. The Education committee led by Prof Ibi Erekosima has been supporting the development of the curriculum for the MAMII programme; Dr Alex Oboh has been championing our diaspora engagement activities as we prepare for DHII 2026 this summer; Ms Fatima Adamu-Biu has set up a new Residents Committee to specifically promote the interests of the residents and non-consultant members of MANSAG; Prof Okike has advocated for the need for research amongst our members and Prof Jaiyesimi has been working hard helping MANSAG develop its strategy in leadership development. Dr Agbo have been extremely busy supporting many of our members that have been challenged by unfair work practices. Dr Andrew Alalade has set up a MANSAG Students Committee to provide a platform for our future members to access support and mentorship whilst also availing MANSAG of their energy and dynamism. You cannot have missed all the AI enabled publicity content across all our social media platforms led by Dr Ugochi Nnaji . It is exciting to see the growth in interest and activity in all areas of our dear organisation.
As the Chair of the national executive committee, I have built links with partners in the UK that are aligned with our mission to support our members so they can thrive in the UK. We are also collaborating with our partners in the global community and in Nigeria as we look to engage our members to use their skills and expertise to facilitate impactful change to the health care infrastructure in Nigeria. My commitment to you our members is that we can do both. We can thrive and flourish in our careers in the United Kingdom and make impactful contributions to the healthcare system in our dear home country Nigeria.
Dates for your diary;
Saturday 20 June 2026 MANSAG Senior Leadership Away Day London Prof Rotimi Jaiyesimi leadershipacademy@mansag.org
Saturday 27 June 2026Â SIMBEGIN Training Day DHII 2026Â London Mr Alex Oboh Diasporaengagement@mansag.org
Saturday 4 July 2026Â Summer BBQ East Midland Chapter Nottingham Dr Abdullahi Ringim eastmidlands@mansag.org
Friday-Sunday 23 -25 October 2026 MANSAG Annual General Conference & Meeting Glasgow Dr Mudashiru Salami Scotland@mansag.org
And finally,
The last year and half has been very busy, but our achievements could not have been possible without the support and guidance of all the members of the National Executive Committee, supported by our secretariat assistant, the Chairs and members of the various national committees, and the leads of our Regional Chapters.
I must also on behalf of our entire membership express our grateful thanks to all our Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze partners and all our ad hoc sponsors  whose support has made it possible for us to deliver  the various activities for our members in the past 18 months. We hope we will continue to work together in the coming months.
I wish you a fun filled and productive 2026Â Education Symposium, Galadima Lecture, Charity Ball and Awards Night.
Remember MANSAG is #MINE:Â
We Mentor each other;
To be Inclusive of all healthcare professionals and their families:Â Â
So we can Extend our Networks; & Â
Aspire to Excellence.
Mansagians – Together we Transform
Dr Jide Menakaya
President, MANSAG