IN MEMORIUM
Prof. Mohammad Ibrahim's contribution to medicine in general and diabetes has been nothing less than phenomenal. He was a successful physician, a gifted teacher, a talented organizer, and a great social reformer. Prof. Ibrahim founded the Diabetic Association of Pakistan and later Bangladesh. With his initiative, Diabetic Association's small outpatient clinic at Segunbagicha has grown over the years into the imposing prestigious BIRDEM at Shahbagh, presently designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre on Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, the only of its kind in Asia. BIRDEM's long journey from Segunbaghicha to Shahbagh is a tale of the dedication and devotion of Prof. Md. Ibrahim.
He was a great physician. His humility to his patients was genuine. He used to say to his humblest of patients, 'I am grateful to you for the opportunity you have given me to serve you'. Deep empathy and compassion were characteristics of his dealing with his patients, especially those who were poor and in pain.
As a teacher, he always laid emphasis on punctuality, discipline, devotion to duty and practice rather than precept. Prof. Ibrahim instilled confidence and trust in his students and helped them to inculcate the habit of deducting reasoning, enquiry, and adherence to clinical methods.
Prof. Ibrahim was the Chairman of Pakistan Medical Research Council and of Pakistan National Science Council from 1969-1971. He also served as President of the Bangladesh Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions, President of the Bangladesh College of Physicians & Surgeons and Vice-President of the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. He was the Adviser (Minister) of the Ministry of Health and Population Control in the mid-seventies. In 1984, The Government of Bangladesh honored him by appointing him the first National Professor among the physicians.
Prof. Ibrahim always believed that an institution achieves its goal and excellence not by bricks and mortars, nor by machines or metals but by their human resources, and he spent all his life in developing these human resources.
Ibrahim Medical College is yet another Institute of The Diabetic Association of Bangladesh dedicated to his memory and committed to developing human resources for the health of the highest order, true to the ideals of Prof. Ibrahim.