SUDANESE JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS

2023; Vol 23, Issue No. 2

SHORT COMMUNICATION

I want to see the other doctor: a tribute to the pioneer and icon of paediatrics and medical education in Africa and the Middle East

Osama Hafiz Elshazali (1)

(1) Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan

Correspondence to:

Osama Hafiz Elshazali

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.

Email: osamaelshazali [at] hotmail.com

Received: 03 May 2022 | Accepted: 10 May 2023

How to cite this article:

Elshazali OH. I want to see the other doctor: a tribute to the pioneer and icon of paediatrics and medical education in Africa and the Middle East. Sudan J Paediatr. 2023;23(2):255–256.

https://doi.org/10.24911/SJP.106-1651571919

ABSTRACT

In this article, I will try to shine a light on the life and contribution to child health of the Late Professor Hafiz Elshazali, who passed away in December 2020, through my eyes. He is my father but more than that he was my mentor and role model.

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KEYWORDS

Hafiz Elshazali; Pioneer; Paediatrics and child health; Medical education.

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Maybe I am the only paediatrician in the world who does not get offended when children come to my clinic and say I do not want to see you, I want to see the old doctor, and when I ask them why all of them say because he is my friend, and always smiles and make jokes with me; as if all of these children had rehearsed this answer.

He had this gift of making children be at ease with him and they do not see him as a scary doctor but rather as a friend more than anything. He was so committed to looking after children that his office when he was in Wad Madani Hospital, was the small office in the paediatric ward that used to be for the on-call house officer. Therefore, he could see all the sick children all the time, and whenever he was coming or leaving the office he used to stop and check on the sick children, especially the sickest ones.

His passion in life was teaching and he kept doing that until his death. In his lifetime, he established three paediatric departments. He established the paeditric and child health departments at the University of Khartoum (UK) in 1967 and at the University of Gezira University in 1978. After that, he went to the Gulf Region where he was instrumental in establishing the medical school in the Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.

He was the first Sudanese Chairman of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, UK, and the first Sudanese professor in paediatrics (Figure 1).

He pioneered and maintained the concept of Community Paediatrics as a universal approach to the management of sick children [1–4]. His PhD thesis was about malnutrition in children and it was based on the research he did in rural areas in the Gezira region. Malnutrition was prevalent at that time in rural areas, the cause was not poverty; food availability was not the issue; the main causes were unawareness, erroneous habits, cultural issues, and infections such as measles.

Figure 1. At the 17th International Paediatric Conference in Manilla, The Philippines (November 1983). Professor Hafiz Elshazali (right), Ex-President of the Sudan Association of Paediatricians. Second from right: Prof. Mustafa Abdalla M Salih, International Editor of the Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics.

He wrote a book in simple Arabic educating parents on vaccination, nutrition, and how to make oral rehydration solutions [5]. Further attributes of him as one of the pioneers of comprehensive paediatric care in the developing world have been detailed in a recent communication published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood [6].

He was mourned by the Sudanese Journal of Paediatrics and an Editorial article paid tribute to his achievements in paediatrics and medical education [1], and his photograph was on the cover of the journal. His legacy is that he inspired generations of doctors and medical students to become paediatricians including myself.

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FUNDING

None.

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ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE

Not applicable.

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REFERENCES

1. Salih M, Swar M. EDITORIAL thinking beyond the griefs of COVID-19. Sudan J Paediatr. 2021;21(1):2–5. https://doi.org/10.24911/SJP.106-1613467452
2. Salih M, Swar M. Article authored by three generations: international lifetime commitment to child health. Sudan J Paediatr. 2017;17(2):5–10. https://doi.org/10.24911/SJP.2017.2.1
3. Shazali H. An experiment in community approach in delivery of health services in rural areas part 1. Sudan J Paediatr. 1977;1:1–4.
4. Shazali H, Ahmed A, Karib A. An experiment in community approach in delivery of health services in rural areas part 2. Sudan J Paediatr. 1977;2:10–8.
5. Shazali H. اطفالنا غذاؤهم و صحتهم ( Our children health and diet). 1st ed. Khartoum, Sudan: Khartoum University Press; 1972. 102 p.
6. Elshazali OH. Pioneers of comprehensive paediatric care in the developing world. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Feb;108(2):144–5. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2022-324404