Adetokunbo Oluwole Lucas (was born in 1931 and died on 25 December 2020) was a Nigerian doctor who was considered a global leader in

tropical disease Tropical diseases are diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropical and subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, which controls the insect population by forc ...

s. Born in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, he was educated in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and commenced his professional career in Nigeria. Lucas received the

Prince Mahidol Award The Prince Mahidol Award () is an annual award for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide. The award is given by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, which was founded by the Thai Royal Family in 1992. Prince Mahidol ...

in 1999 for his support of strategic research on the tropical diseases. He served for ten years as the Director of Special Programmes for Research and Training in

Tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

Diseases based at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

in Geneva, Switzerland. He was Adjunct Professor of International Health Department of Global Health and Population of the

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. Lucas worked largely during his life time in his home

nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

of Nigeria and traveled frequently to the United Kingdom and to the

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Early life and education

Lucas was born and raised in

Lagos Island Lagos Island () is the principal and central Local government areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos, Nigeria. It was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian ce ...

. His father was the Nigerian educator, Olumide Lucas. He attended St. Paul School and

King's College Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only boys as pupils, although prior to ...

for his primary and secondary education. He studied medicine at Durham University, England, graduating with honours in 1956, followed by postgraduate training in internal medicine and public health. He was a Professor of internal medicine and public health in

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

, Nigeria, from 1960 to 1976, and external examiner at the Department of Preventive Medicine, Makerere Medical School, Kampala, Uganda, after which he directed the Tropical Diseases Research Program of the

for ten years, from 1976 to 1986. He later became involved in maternal and child health programs and worked to prevent maternal morbidity and mortality. He was named Professor of International Health at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1990, which position is held in the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

, where he remained an adjunct professor in population health in the Department of Global Health and Population. He continued to serve on numerous expert and advisory committees for national and international organisations involved to international health issues. Such institutions include the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, the

Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University after his defeat in the 1980 United States presidential ele ...

, and the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

Scientific Group on Tropical Medicine. He also chaired the Global Forum for Health Research.

Publications

Lucas was the author of numerous books and articles in refereed public health journals * ''A Short Textbook of Preventive Medicine for the Tropics'' (University Medicine Texts) (1984) * Short Textbook of Public Health Medicine for the Tropics, 4Ed (2002) * ''It Was the Best of Times: From Local to Global Health'' (2010, Autobiography published in Africa) * The Man: Adetokunbo Lucas (2011 Biography)

Honors

Lucas was a fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and was one of the first foreign associates of the Institute of Medicine. He has received honorary degrees from Emory University, Tulane University, and University of Ibadan; and Harvard University has bestowed academic honours upon him. He was a fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and one of the first foreign associates of the IOM (

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

). He was a recipient of the

(1999), based in Thailand (jointly with

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

graduate Dr. R. Palmer Beasley of the United States and Dr. Tore Godal of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

), the Centenary Medal for Life-Time Achievements in Tropical Medicine (2007) and of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) (5 March 2013).

Personal life

Lucas was married and had four children. He died on 25 December 2020, aged 89, at his home in

Ibadan, Nigeria Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and nearly 4 million within its metr ...

References

External links

Official website of the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation

Harvard School of Public Health Faculty Website for Adetokunbo Oluwole Lucas, MD

URL for official HSPH image of Dr. Lucas

AMREF Biography for Dr. Lucas

Spoke page lists some of Dr. Lucas's roles for US-based NGOs and their committees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Adetokunbo 1931 births 2020 deaths Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faculty King's College, Lagos alumni Nigerian expatriate academics in the United States Nigerian officials of the United Nations Nigerian public health doctors Physicians from Lagos Academic staff of the University of Ibadan World Health Organization officials Yoruba academics Yoruba physicians Members of the National Academy of Medicine