Shadrack Frimpong has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Royal Holloway, University of London – the latest recognition of his contribution to global health and community engagement in Africa.

Born the son of a cocoa farmer and charcoal seller, he grew up without running water and electricity in rural Ghana but went on to become the first person from his village to attend university in the USA. Shadrack graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 with a $150,000 President’s Prize.

With this cash prize, he started the ‘Cocoa360’ project in Ghana and pioneered the ‘farm-for-impact’ engagement model, a tuition-free school and community hospital sustained by proceeds from a cocoa farm. To date, Cocoa360 has served over 18,000 patients, treated more than 9,000 malaria cases, and educated 270 girls.

Frimpong has received acclaim from former President Bill Clinton, and the late UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan who described him as an “embodiment of youth leadership.” Not satisfied with his achievements as a public health scholar and leader – Shadrack is also an aspiring physician.

Shadrack holds masters degrees from Pennsylvania and Yale University, as well as a PhD in Public Health and Primary Care from the University of Cambridge as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. In August 2023 he begins a Medical Doctorate at the Yale School of Medicine.

Shadrack’s research focuses on healthcare quality, financing, and community engagement in global health in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has provided expertise on public health to esteemed organisations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. In 2018, Shadrack was awarded the Queen’s Young Leader award by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.