Francis John Bennett
BMJ 2019; 365 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l4191 (Published 14 June 2019) Cite this as: BMJ 2019;365:l4191- Jennifer Bennett,
- Jian Farhoumand
Francis John Bennett (known as John) devoted his life to the improvement of public health throughout Africa, and is regarded as the “Father of Primary Health Care in Africa.” He was born in Sesheke, Barotseland (now Zambia), a rural village surrounded by swamps and forests. When John was 5 years old he was sent to boarding school in a neighbouring country by way of dug-out canoe on the river, then narrow-gauge railway through a logging plantation, and finally a steam train. Thanks to this childhood, John became a true renaissance man. Outside medicine his wider interests and knowledge spanned anthropology, zoology, ornithology, herpetology, botany, and geology. Some of John’s key achievements include invaluable work on improving child survival and development (such as with the children of the Hadza hunters, Tanzania), training community workers on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS prevention, antiretroviral treatment programmes, strengthening district health systems, and even the creation of several national health strategies. John’s forte as a doctor was his ability to communicate with people at all levels, ranging from sitting under a mango tree conversing with a group of elders to advising presidents of countries on the public health problems needing to be tackled nationally. John was professor of community medicine at Makerere University, Uganda; then the University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; and later at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He improved and developed undergraduate teaching and introduced postgraduate degrees in public health at these three universities.
His prolific publications include around 10 books and 200 articles. Between 1979 and 1987 he held a unique joint appointment with the World Health Organization and UNICEF as regional adviser in primary healthcare for 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. His self discipline was evident in every field trip he made to a country, province, or town, to advise on a health problem. Uniquely, his report was always written up and submitted to the commissioning agency within four days of his return. He never broke this rule in 60 years of employment and continued to work until he was 82, when he received an award for his contribution to the public health of the Eastern Cape province in South Africa.
He enjoyed listening to classical music and opera as well as modern African music. He was also a keen collector of African art, particularly Makonde sculpture. He shared with his wife Grace de Beer (a fellow doctor, who qualified from the University of Cape Town) a passion for gardening, and during their lifetime they created 26 gardens. He enthusiastically entered his succulents into local horticultural society competitions until his late 80s and would often achieve first prize. These interests proved helpful in Africa, as while travelling he could often advise people on how to improve their shambas or explain which snakes were dangerous. In later years John devoted himself to writing poetry and his autobiography, and enjoying the company of his dachshunds.
He died in Grahamstown, South Africa. Predeceased by his wife and one daughter, he leaves four children (one of whom is a retired consultant of public health medicine), nine grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.
Professor of community medicine east Africa (b 1927; q University of Cape Town, 1950; DPH; FFPHM), died from natural causes on 5 May 2019