Nkandu Phoebe Luo (born 21 December 1951) is a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

n microbiologist and politician who was a vice presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front in the August 2021 election. She is a

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

who previously served as Head of Pathology and Microbiology at the

University Teaching Hospital The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) formerly Lusaka hospital is the biggest public tertiary hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. It is the largest hospital with 1,655 beds. It is a teaching hospital and, as such, is used to train local medical student ...

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

and has carried out extensive research into

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

Early life and education

Luo was born at Lubwa Mission Hospital in

Chinsali Chinsali is a town in Zambia, which is both the district headquarters of Chinsali District and provincial headquarters of Muchinga Province. Location It lies just off the road between Mpika and Isoka (Tanzam Highway; Zambia's Great North Roa ...

on 21 December 1951. Her parents were both teachers and Luo was one of the eight surviving children. She attended Roma Girls Secondary School and Dominican Convent. She has a MSc in microbiology from

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

and a MSc and PhD in immunology from the

University of Brunei Darussalam Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD; Jawi: ) is a national research university located in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It was established in 1985 and has since become the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curric ...

Career

Luo worked at Saint Mary's Hospital in London. She became a professor in microbiology and immunology at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

in 1993 and worked as Head of Pathology and Microbiology at the University Teaching Hospital,

, Zambia. She has published numerous journal articles on HIV/AIDS. Luo was elected to parliament representing the

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

in the Mandevu constituency in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. She served as Deputy Minister of Health from 1997 to 1999 and

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Count ...

in 1999, however she clashed with both donors and health workers and was moved from the post in November 1999 and replaced by David Mpamba. She was Minister of Transport and Communications from 1999 to 2001 before losing her seat in the 2001 election. Luo created a network of thirty national AIDS advocacy groups and founded non-profit organisation Tasintha, which seeks to free Zambia from commercial sex-work and HIV/AIDS. She established the National AIDS Control program, the National Blood Transfusion Service and the Prevention of Mother to Child transmission of HIV/AIDS program. Luo was elected as the Patriotic Front representative for Munali constituency in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. She was appointed as Minister of Local Government and Housing by

Michael Sata Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia, from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a maj ...

, serving from 2011 to 2014, and then became Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs from 2014 to 2015. Luo was sworn in as Minister of Gender by

Edgar Lungu Edgar Chagwa Lungu (born 11 November 1956) is a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 25 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. Fo ...

in February 2015. In March 2016, Luo was adopted as President of the Women Parliamentary caucus at the 134th Inter Parliamentary Union conference in Lusaka. In September 2016, she became Zambia's Higher Education Minister. Luo was appointed as the minister of fisheries and livestock in 2019. On October 20, 2019, she threatened to cancel the memorandum of understanding with the Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) for the construction of an agricultural industrial park in Chipata worth 1billion. Luo was the running mate for President Lungu in the August 2021 election after Vice President

Inonge Wina Inonge Mutukwa Wina (born 2 April 1941) is a Zambian politician who served as the 13th vice-president of Zambia from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold the position, which made her the highest ranking woman in the history of the Za ...

announced her decision to retire.

Selected publications

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Personal life

Luo is a mother of two and grandmother of 4. She spends her free time with her close family and also dapples in delivering lectures to students on various platforms on various subjects.

References

External links

National Assembly of Zambia profile

Ministry of Gender profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Nkandu Living people 1951 births Women microbiologists Zambian infectious disease physicians HIV/AIDS researchers Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians Patriotic Front (Zambia) politicians Women government ministers of Zambia 20th-century Zambian women politicians 20th-century Zambian politicians 21st-century Zambian women politicians 21st-century Zambian politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Transport ministers of Zambia Gender ministers of Zambia Local government ministers of Zambia Health ministers of Zambia Higher Education ministers of Zambia People from Chinsali District Academic staff of the University of Zambia Moscow State University alumni