On June 14th 2011, the venerable Professor, esteemed surgeon and internationally acclaimed scientist finally came to the end of his earthly journey highly marked by achievements in superlatives. In April 2009 he granted a major interview to Summit Magazine. In this interview, Prof. Anomah Ngu talked extensively about his life, his love for medicine, his medical research and discoveries including Vanhivax, the HIV/AIDS Vaccine, as well as his role in the process leading up to the reunification of the British and French Cameroons. At the end of that interview it was clear that despite his mega achievements in science, he was just another human being who loved playing golf and enjoyed eating “rice and moi-moi”, maybe an influence from his high profile Nigerian wife, Etso Clara Ugbodaga Ngu, an accomplished artist who died in August 1999.

For the complete interview and selected photographs click on the link below.

Brief profile

Education/Employment

St. Joseph’s College (secondary school) Sasse, Cameroon (1943)

Scholarship to study in the Government College in Ibadan, Nigeria (1944)
Scholarship to study medicine, Ibadan, Nigeria (1948)
Qualified as a surgeon, University of London. (1954)

Rockefeller Foundation Research Fellowship in Cancer Chemotherapy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA (1962-1963)

Exchange Professor in Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital Medical School, Baltimore, USA (1964)
Appointed Head of Surgery, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1965-1968)

Appointed Head of the Nigerian Medical Corp (1967)

Professor of Surgery, University of Ibadan (1965 – 1971);
Professor of Surgery, Université de Yaoundé (1971 – 1974);
Vice Chancellor, Université de Yaoundé (1974 – 1982);
President of the Association of African Universities (1981 – 1982);
Minister of Public Health, Government of Cameroon (1984 – 1988);
Director of the Cancer Research Laboratory, Université de Yaoundé (1984 – );
Founder – Hope Clinic Cameroon opened to treat HIV, Sickle-cell anaemia and cancer (1991-)

Some Awards:

Albert Lasker Medical Research Award in Clinical Cancer Chemotherapy (1972);
Dr. Samuel Lawrence Adesuyi Award and Medal by the West African Health Community (1989)

Grand Commandant de l’Ordre de la Valeur, Cameroun; (1991)
Leon H. Sullivan Achievement Award, U.S.A. for work in HIV/AIDS therapeutic vaccine research(2003).

A lion indeed has fallen asleep!!