In loving memory of Dr Frederick Kwadzo Wurapa
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by
AFENET
Laden with heavy hearts and sadness, we announce the passing of Prof Frederick Wurapa, a visionary leader, who together with a team of other public health visionaries founded the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) in 2005.
Dr Wurapa died on June 12, 2025, aged 90, in Accra, Ghana where he has been living since his retirement.
After training in internal medicine, Dr Wurapa thought his calling was destined beyond treating patients on hospital wards. He had a deep interest in community health if he were to put a stop to the recurrent hospital visits by several of his patients. This inspired him to study public health at Johns Hopkins University when an opportunity arose.
Following his studies in the United States, Dr Wurapa began his distinguished career in 1968 as a lecturer in the Department of Community Health at the University of Ghana Medical School. He served as the field coordinator for the Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project, a collaborative initiative involving the Ghana Medical School, the Ministry of Health, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Subsequently, Dr Wurapa was appointed as an epidemiologist by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the Center for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Ndola, Zambia. For eight years, he led a research team there, conducting intervention research on disease control issues, including malaria, schistosomiasis, helminthiasis, and trypanosomiasis. He served in several portfolios at WHO AFRO until October 1997.
Dr Wurapa then joined the School of Public Health at the University of Ghana, serving in multiple roles from head of a department to director of the school between 2000 and 2003. A significant figure in public health, he taught and mentored numerous professionals who now hold key positions worldwide. He was a founding father and the inaugural Board Chair of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), in addition to being the first Program Director of the Ghana Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (Ghana FELTP). He dedicated his final years to advising both the Ghana FELTP and AFENET.
As we commemorate our 20th anniversary, we pay tribute to a colossus in public health who immensely contributed to the founding of a great institution, now with footprints in 40 African countries from the original four in 2005.
Adieus Dr Frederick Wurapa!
