Dora Kwartiorkor Opoku

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(14 April 1948 – 17 December 2010) was a midwife and educationist who was an authority in the field of medical research ethics.

Early life

Opoku was born on 14 April 1948 in

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, one of six children. Her mother Barbara's career as a social worker influenced Opoku's lifelong commitment to justice and equality. Her father Ebeneezer was head nurse at the main Korle Bu Accra hospital and later Health Centre Superintendent in the

Ashanti Region The Ashanti Region is located in the southern part of Ghana and is the third largest of Regions of Ghana, 16 administrative regions, occupying a total land surface of and making up 10.2 percent of the total land area of Ghana. It is the List of ...

. Opoku attended Ghana's prestigious Wesley Girls boarding school.

Career

In 1967, Opoku began training as a nurse in Scotland at

Maryfield Hospital Maryfield Hospital was a hospital in Stobswell, Dundee, Scotland. Originally a poorhouse hospital it became Dundee's second main hospital after Dundee Royal Infirmary. It closed in the 1970s following the opening of Ninewells Hospital. History ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, her mother having vetoed

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as a destination. She was one of the few black people in the city at that time and was known affectionately as the "wee African nurse." From 1970 to 1971 she trained as a midwife at the

Southern General Hospital The Southern General Hospital (SGH) was a large teaching hospital with an acute operational bed complement of approximately 900 beds. The hospital was located in Linthouse in the south west of Glasgow, Scotland. All facilities and services have ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. After working as a midwife teacher in London at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

, Opoku was appointed head of midwifery education at the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

in 1984. Working in the ethnically diverse and socially deprived borough of

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

, Opoku was committed to improving care provision to women with complex needs and their families, including those from minority ethnic groups with little or no English. She supported the establishment of a training programme for Bengali-speaking maternity aid workers and encouraged midwives to continue their education and undertake research into improving healthcare for women. In 1991, Opoku gained an MA in medical ethics and law from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Four years later, she became Head of the Department of Midwifery and Child Health in what was then the St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery (later the School of Community and Health Sciences) at

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

, where she worked until her retirement in 2010. Under Opoku's direction, the department attracted a diverse team of lecturers and established a reputation for providing high quality education. In 2001, Dora was seconded to work at the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and helped develop its code of conduct. She became Chair of the East London and The City Research Ethics Committee, and achieved international respect for her knowledge about research governance. She sat on the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

's consent advisory group and was a trustee of the

British Pregnancy Advisory Service The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) is a British charity whose stated purpose is to avoid unwanted pregnancy by advocating and providing high quality, affordable services to prevent or end unwanted pregnancies with contraception or by a ...

and a member of the Association of Radical Midwives. In 2004 she was appointed

in recognition of her services to midwifery education. She was initially sceptical about the "British Empire" connotations of the award, but a visiting relative persuaded her to accept the honour. In 2008, she joined the board of the

. In 2010, she was made a fellow of the

Royal College of Midwives The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is a British midwives organisation founded in 1881 by Louisa Hubbard and Zepherina Smith. It has existed under its present name since 1947 and is the United Kingdom's only trade union or professional organisati ...

, and the University of London made her its first emeritus fellow.

Death

Opoku died of cancer on 17 December 2010. In 2018, The Iolanthe Midwifery Trust established the Dora Opoku Award for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and midwives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opoku, Dora 1948 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Ghanaian educators Academics of City, University of London Alumni of King's College London British midwives Deaths from cancer Ghanaian emigrants to the United Kingdom Academics from Accra Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire