Dr.
Charles Vincent Mtawali, our beloved
patriarch and a brilliant, renowned physician, was
born in the village of Mlowe, Malawi, on April 4,
1919, and migrated to Tanzania as a child. In 1943,
he obtained a Degree in Medicine and Surgery from
Makerere University in Uganda. While serving as
Medical Officer during the II World War, he noticed
how more foreign soldiers succumbed to malaria
than to bullets. Long before medical advances in
immunology, he presented theories at the World
Health Organization that led to the ensued
identification of a single sickle cell anemia gene
as a source of genetic immunity against fatal forms
of malaria amongst indigenous Africans.
Dr.
Mtawali undertook post-graduate training after the
war, at the Royal College of Physicians in
Edinburgh/Glasgow, and earned Doctor of Medicine (M.D).
He was also Diplomate a in Public Health, Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene from Cambridge and Liverpool in
England. Although he started his medical career at
an era with low expectation of Africans'
intellectual capacity, his excellence in medicine
was recognized with the award of an M.B.E., (Member
of the British Empire), by the Queen of England. He
is also the author of numerous scientific articles
in the British Medical Journal.
During
the African colonial struggle, Dr. Mtawali, then a
church elder at the Presbyterian Church of East
Africa, pointed to benevolent acts of western
missionaries as proof that the exploitation of
Africa was more of a moral failure within a few,
rather than an inherent sense of injustice. After
the Tanzanian Independence in 1961, he was appointed
as the first Secretary of Health. During his
government leadership he observed how virulent
malaria has become due to resistant to synthetic
drugs. While his reverence for life led him to
return to the private practice in medicine, his
desire to eradicate tropical diseases impelled him
to focus on controlling malaria outbreaks.
Dr.
Mtawali attended numerous Conventions of the World
Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, as a
Member of the Executive Board representing African
countries. Since I was toddler, I could see a
sparkle in his eyes as he announced, “Nakwenda
Safari Geneva”. Instantly, I associated the
resonance of those words with his special, honored
position in society. Years later, I learned to
appreciate this position as a very high level of
intellect, a genetic gift that kept on giving, in
that two of his progeny daughters, Dr. Miriam
Mtawali and me, went on to become second generation
physicians ourselves. His scientific contribution
includes mapping resistant malaria to facilitate
prevention. After working hard to save many lives,
he passed away at the age of 65 on November 24,
1984, at Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, following
another lengthy courageous fight with yet again,
none other than malaria.
Dr.
Mtawali undertook post-graduate training after the
war, at the Royal College of Physicians in
Edinburgh/Glasgow, and earned Doctor of Medicine (M.D).
He was also Diplomate a in Public Health, Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene from Cambridge and Liverpool in
England. Although he started his medical career at
an era with low expectation of Africans'
intellectual capacity, his excellence in medicine
was recognized with the award of an M.B.E., (Member
of the British Empire), by the Queen of England. He
is also the author of numerous scientific articles
in the British Medical Journal.
During
the African colonial struggle, Dr. Mtawali, then a
church elder at the Presbyterian Church of East
Africa, pointed to benevolent acts of western
missionaries as proof that the exploitation of
Africa was more of a moral failure within a few,
rather than an inherent sense of injustice. After
the Tanzanian Independence in 1961, he was appointed
as the first Secretary of Health. During his
government leadership he observed how virulent
malaria has become due to resistant to synthetic
drugs. While his reverence for life led him to
return to the private practice in medicine, his
desire to eradicate tropical diseases impelled him
to focus on controlling malaria outbreaks.