The award was in recognition of what the university described as “his extraordinary contribution to quality research”, particularly in the health sector.

An induction ceremony was held in Accra, during which a delegation from the ANU conferred the honour on Dr Duncan and officially inducted him into the university as a research professor.

Other honours

On the recommendation of the Extraordinary Achievement and Heroes of Africa, a non-governmental organisation, the ANU also honoured six other Ghanaians.

The Founder and Leader of the Kristo Asafo Church, Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo, was made an Honorary Professor Emeritus, while the Chairman of the Christian Praise International Centre, Dr Stephen Owusu Jackson; the Executive Director of Ideal College, Dr Joseph Kobina Essibu, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Samara Company Limited, Dr Sampson Effah Apraku, received Honorary Professorships.

A former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba; the CEO of First Choice Hair and Beauty, Mrs Faustina Adofo Adjagar, and the Head of Ultimate Power Ministry, Bishop Jerry Chuku, were all awarded honorary doctorate degrees.

Rationale  

The decision to honour the personalities, according to the Scientific Secretary of the Academic Council of the ANU, Prof. Kozhushko Svitlana, was to recognise their substantial contributions to poverty reduction, equality, the welfare of humanity, among other things.

She said all the awardees, with the consent of the ANU Council, had been officially inducted as fellows of the university.

Wake-up call

Dr Duncan, who was visibly elated by the honour done him, said the development should be a wake-up call to the state to recognise the efforts of its hardworking citizens.

He expressed worry that in spite of his numerous discoveries, which he said had earned him global recognition, no institution in the country had expressed interest in acknowledging his efforts or tap into his ideas.

“I did not expect an institution from Europe to come and give me such an enviable award.

I expected Ghana to do it first, but it is all the same a wake-up call for leadership in this country to acknowledge what is good for Mother Ghana and Africa,” he said.

He gave an assurance that he was “going to use this opportunity as a research professor in the Ukrainian university to do further research, so that we can come up with a lot of solutions that the world is looking for”.

Confidence

Dr Duncan expressed confidence that his potential cure for HIV/AIDS would, in “the next few years”, receive approval, to the delight of the world.

He said his proposed cure for the disease would soon undergo controlled clinical trials, after which the results would prove whether or not it was capable of combating the disease.

“The discovery is a serious achievement, as research institutions all over the world have failed to come up with a possible  cure for HIV/AIDS,” he said.