Jacob Plange-Rhule, (27 July 1957 – 10 April 2020) was a Ghanaian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, academic, and Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons from October 2015 until his death in 2020. At the time of his death, Plange-Rhule was a professor and Head of the Department of

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

of the

School of Medical Sciences A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

Kumasi Kumasi (historically spelled Comassie or Coomassie, usually spelled Kumase in Twi) is a city in the Ashanti Region, and is among the largest metropolitan areas in Ghana. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region near Lake Bosomtwe, and is the ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

. He was also a consulting physician at the Department of Medicine of the

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital also known as GEE for it heavy equipments (KATH) in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, is the second-largest hospital in Ghana, and the only tertiary health institution in the Ashanti Region. History It was the ma ...

(KATH) in Kumasi, where he founded the Hypertension and Renal Clinic and headed it for more than two decades.

Biography

Plange-Rhule was born on 27 July 1957, in

Winneba Winneba is a town and the capital of Effutu Municipal District in Central Region of South Ghana. Winneba has a population of 55,331. Winneba, traditionally known as ''Simpa'', is a historic fishing port in south Ghana, lying on the south coa ...

, Central Region,

. He had his secondary education at the

Accra Academy Accra Academy is a Non-denominational Christianity, non-denominational Day School, day and Boarding School, boarding Single-sex education, boys' school. It is located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region. The school was establishe ...

where he obtained his Ordinary-level certificate in 1976 and his Advanced-level certificate in 1978 prior to entering the

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is a public University of Ghana that focuses on science and technology. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology is the public university established in the country, as well a ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(MB ChB) from the School of Medical Sciences at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 1984. Plange-Rhule then completed a doctorate in

renal physiology Renal physiology (Latin ''rēnēs'', "kidneys") is the study of the physiology of the kidney. This encompasses all functions of the kidney, including maintenance of acid-base balance; regulation of fluid balance; regulation of sodium, potassium, ...

from the former

Victoria University of Manchester The Victoria University of Manchester, usually referred to as simply the University of Manchester, was a university in Manchester, England. It was founded in 1851 as Owens College. In 1880, the college joined the federal Victoria University. Afte ...

(now known as the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

) in 1991. In addition to serving as Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons from 2015 to 2020, Plange-Rhule was a former President of both the

Ghana Medical Association The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) represents physicians, surgeons and dentists working throughout Ghana. It was established in 1958 and is divided into ten divisions representing each region of Ghana as at the end of 2018. History The earliest ...

(GMA) and the Ghana Kidney Association. Professor Jacob Plange-Rhule died from a short illness with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

at the

University of Ghana Medical Centre The University of Ghana Medical Centre is a quaternary medical and research centre located on the campus of the University of Ghana in Accra, Ghana. History The establishment of the University of Ghana Medical center was conceived by the facul ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

on 10 April 2020, at the age of 62. He was survived by his wife, Gyikua, a

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

, and three children. He was laid to rest on Saturday 23 May 2020 at Gethsemane Memorial Gardens after a private funeral service.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plange-Rhule, Jacob 1957 births 2020 deaths Ghanaian medical doctors Alumni of the Accra Academy Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester People from Central Region (Ghana) Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana Academic staff of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology