PSGH pays tribute to distinguished pharmacognosist, educator and institution-builder

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has announced with profound sorrow the passing of Professor Emeritus Kwame Sarpong, one of the country’s most distinguished pharmacy academics and professional leaders. Professor Sarpong passed away on Thursday, 30 July 2026. His death marks the end of an illustrious life devoted to pharmaceutical education, research, professional leadership and the development of institutions that continue to shape pharmacy practice in Ghana and across West Africa.

A Fellow and former President of the PSGH, Professor Sarpong served the Society with distinction and remained a respected senior figure within the profession. His leadership extended well beyond the PSGH, reflecting a lifelong commitment to raising professional standards, developing pharmacists and strengthening pharmaceutical institutions.

Following news of his passing, a high-level delegation led by PSGH President Dr Paul Owusu Donkor, PhD, and including the Registrar and Chairman of the Pharmacy Council, Hon. Joseph Yieleh Chireh and Pharm. Michael Kudebong, together with other senior members of the profession, visited his wife and family to commiserate with them. The delegation conveyed the condolences of the Society and Ghana’s wider pharmacy fraternity, acknowledging the enormous loss suffered by the family, the profession and the nation.

A distinguished academic and mentor

Professor Sarpong was an eminent scholar of pharmacognosy—the branch of pharmaceutical science concerned with medicines derived from natural sources, particularly medicinal plants. His career contributed to the development of scientific expertise in natural-product research and the training of generations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists. He served as Professor of Pharmacognosy at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and occupied several important academic leadership positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Provost of the College of Health Sciences.

Across many years in academia, Professor Sarpong helped to educate, mentor and inspire pharmacists who subsequently assumed important roles in universities, hospitals, regulatory institutions, industry, community practice and pharmaceutical research. His influence therefore extended far beyond the lecture hall: it can be seen in the careers of the many professionals he taught and in the institutions they now serve.

Building institutions for specialist pharmacy practice

Professor Sarpong was also instrumental in building professional institutions that created opportunities for the advanced training and specialisation of pharmacists. He was a Fellow and former President of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), a regional institution responsible for promoting postgraduate pharmaceutical education and specialist pharmacy practice. He was described as one of the College’s founding figures and was elected its President in 2017.

His leadership of WAPCP demonstrated his commitment to professional advancement beyond Ghana’s borders and contributed to regional collaboration in pharmaceutical education, research and practice. At the national level, Professor Sarpong became the founding President of the Ghana College of Pharmacists. The College’s official leadership records show that he served as President from 2012 to 2016, guiding the institution during its formative years. (Ghana College of Pharmacists)

The College was established under the Ghana College of Pharmacists Act, 2011 (Act 833), with a mandate that includes specialist training, continuing professional development, pharmaceutical research and contributions to national policy on medicines, health and public health. Professor Sarpong’s leadership at the beginning of this important institution helped to lay the foundation for a structured system of postgraduate pharmacy specialisation in Ghana.

When the first Governing Council of the College was inaugurated in December 2012, Professor Sarpong was among the pioneering foundation fellows entrusted with turning its statutory mandate into a functioning professional institution.

A legacy across generations

Professor Sarpong’s professional life brought together three important dimensions of pharmaceutical development: academic excellence, professional leadership and institution-building.

At KNUST, he contributed to the training of pharmacists and the growth of pharmaceutical science. Through the PSGH, he helped advance the collective interests and public responsibilities of pharmacists in Ghana. Through WAPCP and the Ghana College of Pharmacists, he supported the development of specialist knowledge and higher standards of professional practice.

His career also highlighted the strategic importance of pharmacognosy and medicinal-plant research in Ghana. In a country with a rich tradition of plant-based medicine, the scientific evaluation of natural products remains essential to establishing their safety, quality and therapeutic value. Professor Sarpong’s work and mentorship helped strengthen the academic foundation upon which current research in herbal medicines and natural-product drug discovery continues to develop.

For many pharmacists, however, his most enduring legacy will be personal. He will be remembered as a teacher, mentor, senior colleague and professional statesman whose contribution can be traced through successive generations of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana extends its deepest condolences to his wife, children, wider family, former students, colleagues and all who were privileged to know and work with him.

As the pharmacy fraternity mourns his passing, it also celebrates a life of distinguished service—a life dedicated to knowledge, professional development and the advancement of pharmacy in Ghana and West Africa.

Funeral and memorial arrangements will be communicated by the family in due course.

May the gentle soul of Professor Emeritus Kwame Sarpong rest in perfect peace.