Comlan A. A. Quenum

Comlan A. A. Quenum (10 January 1926 - 15 August 1984) was a Beninois physician, diplomat, and official. He was the first African to serve as the Regional Director for Africa for the World Health Organization (WHO). The Government of Cameroon established the Dr Comlan A.A. Quenum Prize for Public Health in 1987 in his memory.

Comlan A. A. Quenum
Born
Comlan Alfred Auguste Quenum

10 January 1926
Ouidah, Benin
Died15 August 1984(1984-08-15) (aged 58)
Brazzaville, Congo
AwardsNational Order of the Ivory Coast
Order of the Equatorial Star, National Order of Merit (Senegal)
National Order of Benin
Order of Merit (Congo)
Academic background
Education École nationale de médecine et pharmacie (Diploma)
University of Bordeaux (MBBS, MD)
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Dakar
World Health Organization
WebsiteYouTube Channel

Life and career

Early life and education

Comlan Alfred Auguste Quenum[1][2] was born on 10 January 1926 in Ouidah, Benin.[3][1]

Quenum obtained a Diploma from the École nationale de médecine et pharmacie in Dakar, Senegal (1948-1952), a Bachelor of Medicine from the University of Bordeaux (1954–1955), and a Doctor of Medicine from the Medical Faculty at the University of Bordeaux (1954–1957). He also earned several certificates, including Zoology (1958), Biology (1959), and Animal Physiology (1960), and became an Agrégé in Histology and Embryology in 1962.

Career

Quenum was the Chief Physician at the Infirmary in Senegal from 1953 to 1954.[4] In addition, Quenum also served as the Chief of Histology Study at the Joint Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Dakar, Senegal, from 1959, and as a professor of Embryology and Histology at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Dakar from 1959 to 1963. Quenum also served as a professor at the Joint Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the University of Dakar in 1963–1964.[5]

Quenum was an active member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Committee on Professional & Technical Education of Medicine and Auxiliary Personnel from 1964 to 1965. This committee played an essential role in formulating guidelines for training healthcare professionals in Africa.[6][7][8] He then became the Regional Director for Africa at the WHO from 1965.[9] He was also the first African to hold this position[10] and the second African to become a Regional Director after Aly Tewfik Shousha, who was the Regional Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Region since the WHO inception on 1 July 1949.[11][12]

Quenum until his sudden death and played a crucial role in the implementation of various health programs across Africa.[13][14] As the Regional Director for Africa at the WHO, he had to engage with various governments and organizations to promote public health policies[15][16][17] including tabaco,[18] smallpox,[19][20] onchocerciasis,[21] AIDS,[22] and chemotherapy.[23]

Quenum was one of the 124 founders of the World Cultural Council in 1981.[24]

Quenum died on 15 August 1984[9][25] in Brazzaville, Congo.[1]

Awards and honours

Quenum was also recognized for his diplomatic work, having received honors such as the Commander of the National Order of the Republic from Ivory Coast, the Order of the Equatorial Star from Gabon, and the Order of Merit of Congo, Senegal, and Benin. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and the National University of Zaire as well.

After his death, the Government of Cameroon established the Dr Comlan A.A. Quenum Prize for Public Health in 1987 in his memory.[13] This prize is awarded by the WHO to recognize individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to public health in Africa.[26][27] The prize was awarded every two years until it was discontinued in 2000.[28]

References
  1. "Comlan Quenum - NeglectedScience". www.neglectedscience.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  2. "Optimiser les moyens logistiques pour assurer l'approvisionnement en médicaments dans les zones sanitaires au Bénin". WHO | Regional Office for Africa. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  3. "Comlan A. A. Quenum". id.oclc.org. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  4. Mahler, Halfdan T. (1981). The African Response to the Global Philosophy of Action for Health. Regional Office for Africa (AFRO), World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  5. Quenum, Comlan A. A. (1985). Twenty Years of Political Struggle for Health. Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  6. Quenum, Comlan A. A. (1984). "Introduction: Health for all and the Ethiopian Journal of Health Development". The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development. 1 (1). ISSN 1021-6790. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  7. Katz, Frederick Manfred; Fülöp, Tamás (1978). Personnel for Health Care: Case Studies of Educational Programmes. World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-130070-4. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  8. Addo-Twum, J. K. (1978-04-07). Daily Graphic: Issue 8542 April 7 1978. Graphic Communications Group. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  9. WHO Chronicle. World Health Organization. 1985. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  10. Bump, Jesse B.; Aniebo, Ifeyinwa (2022-09-06). "Colonialism, malaria, and the decolonization of global health". PLOS Global Public Health. 2 (9): e0000936. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0000936. ISSN 2767-3375. PMC 10021769. PMID 36962810.
  11. "World Health Organization". International Organization. 3 (2): 357–360. 1949. doi:10.1017/S0020818300020786. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 2703761. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  12. السارة, قاسم طه (2009). "دور منظمة الصحة العالمية وبرنامجها العربي في النهوض باللغة العربية. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal". 15 (3). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "WHO | Public health prizes and awards". apps.who.int. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  14. United States Treaties and Other International Agreements. United States Department of State. 1978. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  15. Addo-Twum, J. K. (1978-04-07). Daily Graphic: Issue 8542 April 7 1978. Graphic Communications Group. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  16. Smoking and Health Bulletin. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, Bureau of Health Education, National Clearinghouse for Smoking and Health. 1983. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  17. Osemwota, Osa (1992). Some Issues in Nigerian Health Planning and Management. Omega Publishers. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  18. Bibliography on Smoking and Health. 1983. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  19. Fenner, Frank; Henderson, D. A. (1988). Smallpox and Its Eradication. World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-156110-5. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  20. Wickett, J.; Meiklejohn, Gordon (1979). Smallpox Eradication in Ethiopia. Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, Ministry of Health. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  21. Samba, Ebrahim M. (1994). The Onchocerciasis Control Programme in West Africa: An Example of Effective Public Health Management. World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-156168-6. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  22. AIDS Health Promotion Exchange. WHO/GPA. 1991. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  23. Chemotherapy. S. Karger. 1977. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  24. "About Us". World Cultural Council. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  25. United States Participation in the UN: Report by the President to the Congress for the Year. Bureau of International Organization Affairs. 1984. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  26. "Comlan A. A. Quenum Prize for Public health". 1988. hdl:10665/101231. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2023-04-02. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  27. Darpan, Pratiyogita (January 2007). Pratiyogita Darpan. Pratiyogita Darpan. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  28. Lee, Kelley; Fang, Jennifer (2013). Historical Dictionary of the World Health Organization. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-7858-7. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
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