DR. KUMI ANSAH KOI (1904–1965)

The Gem from Larteh – Physician, Educator, and Nation-Builder

Born in 1904 in Larteh, Akuapem, Dr. Kumi Ansah Koi grew up in a community known for its rich cultural traditions and intellectual heritage. From an early age, he demonstrated a remarkable academic aptitude and a commitment to service that would define his life’s work. In pursuit of higher learning, he travelled to the United Kingdom, where he trained in medicine. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) degree from the University of London in 1937. His professional credentials included becoming a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (MRCS) and a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London (LRCP). These achievements placed him among the pioneering Ghanaian physicians of his generation.

Medical Career

On returning home to the Gold Coast, Dr. Ansah Koi made history by becoming the first African Medical Officer at the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong. His appointment broke long-standing racial barriers in the colonial medical establishment. He was not only a practitioner but also a reformer, advocating for improved access to healthcare for ordinary people. His forward-looking ideas would later inform national discussions on public health and medical insurance. Dr. Ansah Koi believed strongly that education was the foundation of national progress. In 1949, he founded Benkum Secondary School at Larteh, providing a lasting institution for the youth of Akuapem and beyond. His commitment to education extended beyond secondary schooling. He was one of the earliest figures to envision the establishment of a university in northern Ghana. According to Professor R. P. Banning, the first Vice-Chancellor of the University for Development Studies (UDS), it was Dr. Ansah Koi who first proposed such an institution—an idea that would later materialize decades after his passing.

Political Career

Dr. Ansah Koi was a political pioneer, actively involved in the struggle for Ghana’s independence. He was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), the first nationalist political movement formed in 1947. Later, he joined Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP), playing a key role in mobilising support for self-rule. In 1951, he was appointed Minister of Works and Housing in Nkrumah’s government. True to a pledge he made to the chiefs and people of Akuapem, he ensured that all major roads in the area were fully tarred, fulfilling a promise that improved infrastructure and connectivity in his homeland. Dr. Ansah Koi also pursued independent political vision. In 1954, he became the first Akuapem indigene to contest for the highest office in Ghana under the Ghana Action Party. During his campaign, he proposed a Comprehensive Medical Insurance Scheme, a groundbreaking idea decades ahead of its time. This vision foreshadowed Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), established nearly fifty years later.

Legacy

Dr. Ansah Koi passed away in 1965, but his legacy remains firmly etched in Ghana’s history. He is remembered as:

• A      medical pioneer,      breaking racial barriers in the colonial health system.

• An      educationist,      founding Benkum Secondary School and sowing the seeds for higher      education in northern Ghana.

• A      nation-builder,      whose contributions to infrastructure, politics, and public health      continue to resonate.

• A      visionary politician, whose early advocacy for medical insurance      anticipated one of Ghana’s most important social policies.

Today, he is honoured as “The Gem from Larteh”, a man of bold ideas, fulfilled promises, and enduring service to his people and nation.