Victor Anomah Ngu

Who are they?

Born on 1 February 1926 in Buea, Victor Anomah Ngu attended St. Joseph's College, Sasse, then studied medicine at the University of Ibadan and St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. Professor of surgery at Ibadan (1965–1971) and then at Yaoundé, he became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Yaoundé (1974–1982) and Minister of Public Health (1984–1988). He died at Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital on 14 June 2011.

What made them famous

As a surgeon he took an interest in Burkitt's lymphoma, a tumour he treated with chemotherapy. This work earned him the 1972 Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award, given that year to a group including Denis Burkitt for combination chemotherapy of lymphoma and acute leukaemia. He later became famous for VANHIVAX, a vaccine he presented as an immunological solution in the treatment of AIDS; the project gave rise to a controversy studied by the historian Guillaume Lachenal.

Key facts

• He was one of sixteen recipients of the 1972 Lasker clinical award, alongside Denis Burkitt and Vincent DeVita.
• He served as President of the Association of African Universities in 1981–1982.
• He founded Hope Clinic in Cameroon in 1991 and received the Leon H. Sullivan Achievement Award in the United States in 2003.