15/12/2025
🌿Remembering Professor Aklilu Lemma (1934–1997) 🌿
The Addis Ababa University alumni community proudly honors the life and legacy of Professor Aklilu Lemma, one of Ethiopia’s most distinguished scientists and a global pioneer in public health research.
Professor Aklilu Lemma was a long-serving faculty member of Addis Ababa University and is internationally renowned for his groundbreaking discovery that Endod (Phytolacca dodecandra)—a plant traditionally used in Ethiopia—could be used as a low-cost and effective tool to control schistosomiasis (bilharzia). His work showed how indigenous knowledge, when combined with rigorous scientific research, can offer sustainable solutions to major global health challenges.
Despite working under limited resources, his research gained worldwide recognition. In 1989, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for his outstanding contribution to humanity. His legacy lives on through the Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology at Addis Ababa University, a leading center for biomedical research.
Professor Aklilu Lemma remains a powerful symbol of scientific excellence, innovation, and service to society—an enduring inspiration for AAU students, alumni, and researchers.
🕯️ A scholar whose work connected tradition, science, and global impact.