Nkandu Phoebe Luo (born 21 December 1951) is a

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n microbiologist and politician who was a vice presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front in the August 2021 election. She is a

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

who previously served as Head of Pathology and Microbiology at the

University Teaching Hospital The University Teaching Hospital (UTH), formerly Lusaka Hospital, is the biggest public tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. It is the largest hospital with 1,655 beds. It is a teaching hospital and, as such, is used to train local medical students ...

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

and has carried out extensive research into

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Early life and education

Luo was born at Lubwa Mission Hospital in

Chinsali Chinsali is a town in Zambia, which is both the district headquarters of Chinsali District and provincial headquarters of Muchinga Province. Location It lies just off the road between Mpika and Isoka ( Tanzam Highway; Zambia's Great North ...

on 21 December 1951. Her parents were both teachers and Luo was one of the eight surviving children. She attended Roma Girls Secondary School and Dominican Convent. She has a MSc in microbiology from

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

and a MSc and PhD in immunology from the

University of Brunei Darussalam The Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD or University of Brunei Darussalam) is a public national research university situated in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, was founded in 1985 and is the oldest institution in the country. Nine ...

Career

Luo worked at Saint Mary's Hospital in London. She became a professor in microbiology and immunology at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

in 1993 and worked as Head of Pathology and Microbiology at the University Teaching Hospital,

, Zambia. She has published numerous journal articles on HIV/AIDS. Luo was elected to parliament representing the

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

in the Mandevu constituency in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. She served as Deputy Minister of Health from 1997 to 1999 and

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

in 1999, however she clashed with both donors and health workers and was moved from the post in November 1999 and replaced by

David Mpamba David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

. She was Minister of Transport and Communications from 1999 to 2001 before losing her seat in the 2001 election. Luo created a network of thirty national AIDS advocacy groups and founded non-profit organisation Tasintha, which seeks to free Zambia from commercial sex-work and HIV/AIDS. She established the National AIDS Control program, the National Blood Transfusion Service and the Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV/AIDS program. Luo was elected as the Patriotic Front representative for Munali constituency in the September 2011 election. She was appointed as Minister of Local Government and Housing by

Michael Sata Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who served as the fifth president of Zambia from 2011 until Death and state funeral of Michael Sata, his death in 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patrio ...

, serving from October 2011 to July 2012, and then became Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs from July 2012 to February 2015. Luo was sworn in as Minister of Gender by

Edgar Lungu Edgar Chagwa Lungu (11 November 1956 – 5 June 2025) was a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 26 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister ...

in February 2015. In March 2016, Luo was adopted as President of the Women Parliamentary caucus at the 134th Inter Parliamentary Union conference in Lusaka. She retained her Munali constituency seat at the August 2016 election and the following month, she became Zambia's Higher Education Minister. Luo was appointed as the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock in 2019. On October 20, 2019, she threatened to cancel the memorandum of understanding with the Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) for the construction of an agricultural industrial park in Chipata worth over $1 billion. Luo was the running mate for President Lungu in the August 2021 election after Vice President

Inonge Wina Inonge Mutukwa Wina (born 2 April 1941) is a Zambian politician who served as the 13th Vice President from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold the position, which made her the highest ranking woman in the history of the Zambian gover ...

announced her decision to retire.

Selected publications

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Personal life

Luo is a mother of two and grandmother of 4. She spends her free time with her close family and also delivers lectures to students on various platforms on various subjects.

References

External links

National Assembly of Zambia profile

Ministry of Gender profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Nkandu Living people 1951 births Women microbiologists Zambian infectious disease physicians HIV/AIDS researchers Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians Patriotic Front (Zambia) politicians Women government ministers of Zambia 20th-century Zambian women politicians 20th-century Zambian politicians 21st-century Zambian women politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Transport ministers of Zambia Gender ministers of Zambia Local government ministers of Zambia Health ministers of Zambia Higher education ministers of Zambia People from Chinsali District Academic staff of the University of Zambia Moscow State University alumni