31/10/2025
Today, on the last day of Black History Month we honour Dr Agnes Yewande Savage, the first West African woman to qualify in medicine, and a remarkable figure whose contributions to medicine and education shaped Ghanaian institutions and inspired generations of women across Africa.
Born in Edinburgh to a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother, she lived on Buccleuch Place, a street familiar to many of us today!
Dr Savage excelled at the University of Edinburgh, earning first-class honours and becoming the first woman to win the medal in Forensic Medicine. Yet despite her brilliance, she faced systemic racism and gender discrimination throughout her career.
When appointed as a medical officer in colonial Ghana, she was paid less than her less-qualified white peers and housed in servants’ quarters. Undeterred, she went on to establish the nurses’ training school at Korle Bu Hospital, advocate for equality, and become a role model for countless women in medicine.
Dr Savage’s story reminds us that representation, resilience, and equity are not seasonal conversations, they are ongoing commitments. As Black History Month ends, we’re reminded that this story, and the lessons it carries, deserve to be remembered all year long.
