Here’s an insightful thread about the eldest son of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Madam Fanny Miller, Emeritus Professor Francis Kwesi Nkrumah
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah met Madam Fanny Miller, a woman from Elmina in the Central Region, while teaching at a middle school in Amisano, a nearby town. Their relationship resulted in the birth of Francis Kwesi Nkrumah on November 26, 1935, before Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, then 26 years old, departed for further studies at Lincoln University in the United Kingdom.
By the time Dr. Kwame Nkrumah returned to Ghana, Francis had already made notable academic strides, excelling in his O-Level at St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who had risen to become the leader of government business by 1952, lived with his son at his Accra New Town residence and later facilitated Francis’ education through a COCOBOD Scholarship to study Medicine in Berlin, Germany, where he graduated in 1961. After graduation, he returned to Ghana in 1963 and joined the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital as a Medical Officer.
Francis Kwesi Nkrumah’s thirst for knowledge led him to pursue further training in Paediatrics and Public Health at the Children’s Hospital and at the Harvard School of Public Health (now known as the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health) in Boston, Massachusetts, earning a Master’s degree in Public Health in 1969 and solidifying his expertise in Child Health and Public Health initiatives.
After Francis Kwesi Nkrumah’s Postgraduate training, he returned to Ghana and worked as a Pediatrician and Lecturer in Pediatrics at the University of Ghana Medical School and became the Head of the Department of Child Health at the University of Ghana Medical School from 1980 to 1983.
In 1983, Francis moved to the University of Harare in Zimbabwe, where he served as Professor of Paediatrics for seven years.
In 1990, Emeritus Professor Francis Kwesi Nkrumah returned to Ghana to begin serving as the Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, located at the University of Ghana in Legon, from 1990 to 1998.
Emeritus Professor Nkrumah’s research focused on infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries, including malaria and measles, and has had a lasting impact on global health initiatives. He was a strong advocate for vaccination and played a key role in shaping committees for major international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His work has contributed significantly to the research and treatment of measles, polio, malaria, and meningococcal disease.
Emeritus Professor Francis Kwesi Nkrumah became a Professor through his distinguished career in medicine, particularly in Paediatrics and Public Health, and is well known for leading the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research with distinction until his retirement in 2001, after which the University of Ghana appointed him Emeritus Professor.
After a distinguished career spanning several decades, Emeritus Professor Francis Kwesi Nkrumah passed away on June 30, 2024, at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy of remarkable contributions to medical research and public health. His story serves as an inspiration to future generations of medical professionals and researchers, and his contributions will continue to shape the field of medicine for years to come.
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