Emergence
Stories from the frontlines – family physicians around the world responding to COVID-19 - episode 3 - Australia

Interview with Dr. Kenneth Yakubu on March 25, 2020

Australia

“The Fullness of Our Potential”

Dr. Kenneth Yakubu is a prominent academic partner of the Besrour Centre who is presently in Australia for his PhD studies. We’d spoken about his overseas experience in the past, but I hadn’t anticipated the profound personal anecdotes he expressed, and the intense vulnerability of being in a different country during a global crisis. He’s relied on other international students, his local church, and making connections that have been taken away. If he was back home in Nigeria, he would be part of a collective and family-centred response among people who have previously experienced quarantine and physical distancing.

One of the most fascinating aspects of interviewing Yakubu is his sense of navigating his journey within cultural competency – learning about the fear response of a different community. He knew that people continued to go to the beach despite a government enforced lockdown, acknowledging it’s a strange behavior to be witnessing. He also had difficulty understanding why people panic-buy toilet paper – a sentiment that we certainly share in Canada where it has become equally scarce.

“I think that’s what happens when you stick around Family Medicine for quite a while, you notice quite a lot.”

Of the many fascinating insights Yakubu expressed related to the missed opportunity of harnessing the strengths of Family Medicine community; that their discipline had been insisting they had relationships and knowledge within local communities and should have been a part of developing emergency-preparedness plans. Their value was underestimated in the crises Australia has faced: bushfires, floods, and now the pandemic. As advocates who know their communities and take a comprehensive approach, their capacity for care is immense.

He wondered who could coordinate a holistic response to the basic needs of humans – food, shelter, emotional support. He is noticing extreme anxiety in regular and healthcare communities, physicians choosing to segregate themselves from family in order to mitigate their risk. He wondered what enhanced partnerships and collaboration would look like that used the full skills of the family doctor in Australia, where significant mental health trauma is anticipated.

“There’s a lot that happens with emergency preparedness that goes beyond fighting the acute crisis. The ramifications - mental health implications, exacerbations of chronic diseases. I heard the GPs here… very consistently saying there’s a lot of utility that we have to offer when you understand our roles.”

He advises that we need to seriously consider Family Medicine physicians as community leaders when it comes to public health preparedness, especially in the realm of an equity plan that accounts for the entire community, so that we don’t leave anybody behind.

Authenticity. Humility. An Equity Lens.

Thank you, Yakubu, for an honest reflective observation of an unfamiliar culture. It was an honor to hear your frank narrative about the challenges we face together.

Dr Kenneth Yakubu trained as a family physician in Nigeria. Even as a trainee, he constantly sought ways to express the principles of family medicine (FM) and support medical education in an African context. After his residency training, the quest to have a rich FM Academic experience while practicing as a physician, led him to do an MPhil (Family Medicine) degree with the Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. He also completed a MBA (Health Units Management) degree from the Cyprus Institute of Marketing. Currently, he is studying for his PhD with The George Institute for Global Health, and the University of New South Wales. His Thesis will focus on human-rights based approaches for achieving a sustainable health workforce.

Listen to the podcast here: https://cfppodcast.libsyn.com/covid-19-global-pandemic-and-family-medicine-ep3-australia

Dr. Christine Gibson (www.christinegibson.net) is a family physician in Calgary, Canada with a background in justice work, medical education, and global health. A skilled facilitator and speaker, she is engaged in building individual and community resilience. Her writing creates the woven narrative between her interests – wellbeing, trauma recovery, and the power of story.