Susan Ofori-Atta

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Susan Ofori-Atta
William Ofori-Atta (brother)
  • Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta (brother)
  • Adeline Akufo-Addo (sister)
  • Kwesi Amoako-Atta (brother)
  • Jones Ofori Atta (brother)
    • AwardsRoyal Cross
    Medical career
    Field
    Scientific career
    InstitutionsUniversity of Ghana Medical School

    Susan Barbara Gyankorama Ofori-Atta, also de Graft-Johnson,

    political activist and higher education pioneer, Edna Elliot-Horton became the second West African woman university graduate and the first to earn a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts.[1] Eventually Ofori-Atta became a medical officer-in-charge at the Kumasi Hospital, and later, she assumed in charge of the Princess Louise Hospital for Women.[1] Her contemporary was Matilda J. Clerk, the second Ghanaian woman and fourth West African woman to become a physician, who was also educated at Achimota and Edinburgh.[1] Ofori-Atta was made an Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Ghana for her work on malnutrition in children, and received the Royal Cross from Pope John Paul II when he visited Ghana in 1980, in recognition of her offering of free medical services at her clinic.[11] She helped to establish the Women's Society for Public Affairs and was a Foundation Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.[12] Her achievements were a symbol of inspiration to aspiring women physicians in Ghana.[12]

    Early life and education

    A member of the prominent Ofori-Atta royal dynasty, Susan Ofori-Atta was born in Kyebi, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana), in 1917 to Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, the Okyenhene and Paramount Chief of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, and his wife Nana Akosua Duodu.[12][13]

    Susan Ofori-Atta received her primary education at St. Mary's Convent in

    Edinburgh University Medical School, where she obtained her MBChB degree in 1947.[12][3] Her education abroad was sponsored by funds bequeathed to her by her wealthy father, Ofori Atta I, who died in 1943 while she was still a medical student at Edinburgh.[12]

    Career and advocacy

    Ofori-Atta began her career as a midwife and then studied to become a pediatrician, making her the first female doctor in the Gold Coast (now known as Ghana).[12] In 1960, she volunteered her time at a Congolese hospital that was understaffed.[14] During her time as a medical officer at the Princess Marie Louise Hospital, she was dubbed "mmofra doctor" (children's doctor).[13] She left the Princess Marie Louise Hospital to join the University of Ghana Medical School, where she was a founding member of the Paediatrics Department before starting her own private medical practice for women and children at her clinic, the Accra Clinic.[12] She was also a Diplomate of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecology (1949) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (1958).[3]

    She was an advocate for women and children causes and opposed the

    Second Republic of Ghana.[12]

    She was honoured by the University of Ghana in 1974 with an honorary Doctor of Science for her pioneering research work into childhood malnutrition — "Kwashiorkor", a term she coined that became a medical term in the global community.[12][13] She was an active in the Catholic Church in Ghana, especially the Accra Diocese.[12] She was an executive member of the Federation of Association of Catholic Medical Doctors and a member of the Ghana Catholic Doctors Association.[12]

    Personal life and family

    She was married to E. V. C. de Graft-Johnson, a barrister-at-law based in Accra and a cousin of Joseph W.S. de Graft-Johnson, vice-president of Ghana from 1979 to 1981.[12][15] During the 1960s, E. V. C. de Graft Johnson held a one-man protest on a matter of legal principle outside the Supreme Court buildings.[16] After the ban on multiparty democracy was lifted in 1969, E. V. C. de Graft-Johnson became the Leader and General Secretary of the now-defunct All People's Party.[17] In 1979, E.V.C. de Graft-Johnson was the vice-chairman of the centre-left party, Social Democratic Front (SDF).[citation needed]

    Susan Ofori-Atta's older brother was

    First Lady of Ghana during the Second Republic.[18]

    Death and legacy

    Susan Ofori-Atta died of

    natural causes in July 1985 in the United Kingdom.[12] A girls' house at her alma mater, Achimota School, was named after her.[19]

    See also

    References

    1. ^
      ISBN 978-0-8130-1432-6
      .
    2. ^
      ISBN 978-0-300-05504-7. Archived
      from the original on 14 April 2017.
    3. ^
      S2CID 7298703
      .
    4. S2CID 53713242
      .
    5. ^ "Susan Ofori-Atta, the first Ghanaian female doctor in the Gold Coast -". Ghanaian Museum. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
    6. ISBN 9783643802613
      .
    7. ^ "CAS Students to Lead Seminar On University's African Alumni, Pt. IV: Agnes Yewande Savage". Postgrads from the Edge. 16 November 2016. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
    8. ^ "Tabitha Medical Center | Celebrating African Women in Medicine". www.tabithamedicalcenter.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
    9. ISBN 9789783557116. Archived
      from the original on 23 December 2016.
    10. ^ Mitchell, Henry (November 2016). "Dr Agnes Yewande Savage – West Africa's First Woman Doctor (1906-1964)". Centre of African Studies. Archived from the original on 5 August 2017.
    11. ISBN 978-0-7487-7034-2. Archived
      from the original on 21 April 2017.
    12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "National Commission on Culture". ghanaculture.gov.gh. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
    13. ^ a b c "Tabitha Medical Center | Celebrating African Women in Medicine Part 2". www.tabithamedicalcenter.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
    14. ^ "Friends in Deed". Jet. 19 (3): 44. 19 November 1960. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
    15. ^ Graft-Johnson, E. V. C. De (1958). The Evolution of the Executive in the Constitutional Development of the Gold Coast. University of Leeds (Department of Law).
    16. ^ "Hats off to Martin Amidu". cameronduodu.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
    17. ^ Ofori, Henry (2 May 1969). "All People's Party Launched". Daily Graphic.
    18. ^ Nana Kwame Asamoa-Boateng, "Otumfuo Storms Ofori Panie Fie"[usurped] , Daily Guide, 9 August 2018.
    19. ^ "Old Achimotan Association". www.oldachimotan.net. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.

    Merged content from

    Susan Gyankorama de Graft-Johnson. See Talk:Susan Gyankorama de Graft-Johnson
    .

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