Cornelius Odarquaye Quarcoopome

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Cornelius Odarquaye Quarcoopome

MRCS, FWACS
Born
Cornelius Odarquaye Quarcoopome

(1924-07-06)6 July 1924
Accra, Gold Coast
Died28 August 2003(2003-08-28) (aged 79)
Cromwell Hospital, London, UK
Nationality Ghanaian
Alma mater
Occupation(s) Professor, physician
Known for
Scientific career
Fields Ophthalmology
Institutions University of Ghana Medical School

Cornelius Odarquaye Quarcoopome, MRCS, FWACS (6 July 1924-2003) was a Ghanaian physician and academic. He was an ophthalmologist and professor at the University of Ghana Medical School. He and others have been described as pioneers of the medical profession in Ghana. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Cornelius was born on 6 July 1924 in Accra, Gold Coast. His early education begun in 1929 at the Accra Government Boys' School. He had his secondary education at the Accra Academy from 1939 to 1943. He entered Achimota College in 1944 for his pre university education. In 1947 he gained admission to further his studies at the University of Birmingham, [2] completing in 1953. After a short spell in the Gold Coast he returned to United Kingdom in 1957 for further studies at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College of London; a constituent college of the University of London completing in 1958. [3] [4]

Career

After his studies at the University of Birmingham, he returned to Ghana in 1954 working at the Government Medical department of Gold Coast until 1957 when he left for the United Kingdom to further his studies at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. He returned to Ghana in 1958 and worked at the Ministry of Health as a special grade medical officer. In 1960 he was promoted to specialist ophthalmologist at the Ministry of Health. [5] He held this post at the ministry until 1965. He became a part-time lecturer at the Ghana Medical School (now the University of Ghana Medical School) in 1965 and a senior lecturer in 1969. [6] He was appointed associate professor of ophthalmology in 1974. [7] That same year he became an associate research fellow and an honorary consultant for the Ghana Institute of Clinical Genetics, and also a member of the World Health Organization Scientific Advisory Panel for Onchocerciasis Control Project of the Volta River Basin Area. He was appointed president of the Ghana Medical Association from 1978 to 1980. [8] [9] In 1978, he was a member of the 1978 Constitutional Commission that was intended for the drafting of the UNIGOV constitution. [10] In 1979, he was appointed first director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] He was board chairman of SIC Insurance Company from 1986 to 1994. [16] In June 1990 he was appointed the first president of the Ophthalmological Society of Ghana. [17] [18] He was a fellow of the West African College of Surgeons, a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, England, a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, London since 1953, [19] [20] and a member of the International Filariasis Association since 1969. [3]

Personal life and death

He married Emma Essie Dadzie on 25 August 1955. He had a total of seven children comprising five daughters and two sons. His hobbies included reading, photography, golf, computers and listening to music. [3] [4] He died on 28 August 2003 at Cromwell Hospital, London at the age of 79.

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References

  1. ↑ Myjoyonline.com,"Accept postings to rural communities - Akufo-Addo urges young doctors", Joy Online, 12 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Calenda". Calenda. University of Birmingham: 247. 1949.
  3. 1 2 3 Uwechue, Ralph (1991). "Africa Who's who". Africa Who's Who. Africa Journal Limited: 1548.
  4. 1 2 "Ghana Year Book 1971". Ghana Year Book. Graphic Corporation: 127. 1964.
  5. ↑ Ghana. Commission Appointed to Enquire into the Conditions Prevailing in the Ghana Prisons Service (Report). Ministry of Information. 1968.
  6. ↑ "West Africa, Issues 3793-3809". Africa Publishing Company Limited. 1990: 997.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Wilson, John (1980). World blindness and its prevention. p. 87. ISBN   9780192612496.
  8. ↑ "Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa, Issues 5551-5628". British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service. 1977: 6.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Technical Survey, Volume 36". Predicasts, inc. 1980: 15.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  10. ↑ Ghana (1978). Ghana Gazette. Government Printer.
  11. ↑ Addae, S. K. (1997). The evolution of modern medicine in a developing country : Ghana 1880-1960. p. 475. ISBN   9781900838054.
  12. ↑ Wilson, M. D.; Koram, K. A.; Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy; Ahorlu, C. S. K; Bosompem, K. M. (2014). Towards effective disease control in Ghana research and policy implications : Noguchi reader Volume 1 Malaria. p. 3. ISBN   9789988647506.
  13. ↑ "Past Directors". Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  14. ↑ "Sub-Saharan Africa Report, Issues 2713-2722". Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1982: 28.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ↑ "Report, Volume 25". All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. 1980: 176.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ↑ "Governance - Celebrating Galant Leadership". SIC Insurance Company Ltd. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  17. ↑ "About". Ophthalmological Society of Ghana. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  18. ↑ "West Africa, Issues 3954-3978". West Africa Publishing Company Limited. 1993: 2261.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ↑ "List of the fellows, members, extra-licentiates and licentiates of the Royal College of Physicians of London, and of holders of the diploma in public health, granted conjointly by the royal colleges of physicians and surgeons". London (England). Royal College of physicians. 1952: 346.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  20. ↑ "The Medical Directory ...: London, Provinces, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Abroad, Navy, Army & Air Force, Volume 122, Part 2". J. & A. Churchill, Limited. 1966: 1938.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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