Sister Corrigan receives her MBE from Prince Charles
Sister Brigid Corrigan, a member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM), was awarded the MBE in the UK New Year’s Honours List for services to international health. After qualifying as a doctor in Dublin, Sister Brigid’s first appointment was as medical officer in charge of Makiungu Hospital, Singida from 1964 to 1971. She returned to Tanzania as medical officer in charge of Kabanga Hospital, Kigoma (1973-75) and then worked as specialist physician at Bugando Hospital, Mwanza for 11 years (1974-85). She made a particular study of diabetes while at Mwanza, and in association with colleagues published four papers on the prevalence and treatment of diabetes in NW Tanzania.
She returned to Tanzania in 1994 as health coordinator for the Catholic archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam and Medical Director of PASADA (Pastoral Activities and Services for people with HIV/AIDS.) She quickly became an expert on the treatment of HIV/AIDS, particularly home-based, hospice and palliative care, counselling and the role of dispensaries. From 2000 to 2006 she delivered papers on these subjects to international conferences in Canada, Thailand, Ethiopia and Nigeria. At the Tanzanian National AIDS Conference at Arusha in December 2004 she co-authored a paper on AIDS entitled AKINA MAMA KWANZA! (Ladies First!). She was Vice-President of the Association of Physicians in Tanzania (2000-6). In 2008 she moved to Uganda.
Sister Brigid said she considered the award was not so much for her personally as for all the people she had been privileged to work with, and to care for, in many parts of Tanzania through all those years.