The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Babatunde Osotimehin, has died.
Mr. Osotimehin died in the early morning hours on Monday at his home in New York. The cause of death still remains unclear.
"This is a devastating loss for UNFPA and for the people, especially women, girls and youth, he dedicated his life to serving, starting from when he became a doctor in Nigeria," UNFPA said in a statement. The UN agency described Mr. Osotimehin as bold and unwavering in keeping the health and rights of women high on the global agenda.
Mr. Osotimehin was a qualified doctor who graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1972 and later attained his doctorate degree in medicine from the University of Birmingham, England in 1979. He was named professor at the University of Ibadan in 1980 and went on to serve at various levels at the university.
He later served as director-general of his country's National Agency for the Control of AIDS before being made Nigerian minister of health from 2008 to 2010. He would become the head of UNFPA in 2011 beginning his second term at the position in 2015.
At the time of his death, he was 68 years old and left behind his wife and five children.