In her work in paediatrics, Dr Abigail Takyiwaah Nyarko sees every child who comes into her care as more than a patient.
To her, each child represents a family’s hopes, dreams and future, a belief that has shaped the way she approaches child care.
That belief has been reinforced by some of the most difficult cases she has handled, including a patient she lost to cancer.
Having been deeply involved in the child’s care, Dr Nyarko recalled crying after the loss and later having nightmares in which she felt as though the child was still in the room with her.
The experience reminded her that while doctors may consider survival rates and treatment outcomes, for a family that loses a child, the loss is complete.
“Every child is their 100 per cent,” she said in an interview with The Mirror in Accra last Tuesday.
Her understanding of loss is also rooted in her own childhood, losing her mother at 12.
She was raised largely by her mother’s sister, Mercy Pokuaa Agyemang, whom she refers to as her mother and Ernest Boapeah, whom she refers to as her father.
“I lost my family very early,” she said. “The childhood was very rough, especially the teenage years. It was a very rough period in my life.”
Today, Dr Nyarko is undergoing specialist training in paediatrics at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, having previously worked at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) and completed her housemanship at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and the Ghana Police Hospital.
A product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree. Dr Nyarko is the founder of Medical Sisters, a community for women in health care focused on mentorship, leadership, wellness and professional development. Alongside her clinical work, she is involved in child and maternal health advocacy and public education.
Financial challenges
Finding her feet in medicine did not come easy for Dr Nyarko. Her years at St Monica’s Senior High School in Kumasi, Ashanti Region were marked by financial difficulties, with times when she struggled to get food and other basic necessities.
She recalled drinking leftover sachet water from other students and sometimes praying for the opportunity to ‘gather’ food from the dining hall.
Despite the difficulties, she remained focused on her education. After senior high school, she applied to study medicine at KNUST in 2013, but her first attempt was unsuccessful. She applied again and gained admission, beginning the journey that eventually led her to paediatrics.
“I found my feet when I settled into the school and gradually discovered I enjoyed working with people, especially as someone who is reserved,” she said.
In medical school, she even took on leadership responsibilities, serving as class representative.
She noted that it was during her transition from medical school into clinical practice that her interest in child health began to take shape.
Working in the Department of Child Health at the UGMC gave her a sense that she had found an area of medicine that suited her.
“When I started my medical officer position in the Department of Child Health, I had this sense of peace. It's like I was at home,” she said.
Choosing children
The loss of her mother left a lasting emotional impact on Dr Nyarko, one she said went largely unnoticed.
“In our culture, when you are bereaved, especially as a child, everybody is consoling you around the funeral time, trying to be there, but right after the funeral, they forget about you,” she said.
She said the focus was often on a bereaved child’s immediate needs, while the emotional impact was overlooked.
“I was depressed for so long and from 2007 to like 2017, I cried about the death of my mother every single day and I'm sure a lot of people around me did not even notice,” she recalled.
At senior high school, she remained quiet and reserved, carrying a grief few people understood.
Medicine had first crossed her mind when her mother became ill, but her experiences later gave the profession a deeper meaning.
“I also realised I'm a people person. Like, I love to help people. I want to engage people, so those attributes and the fact I've been through pain, I was like, okay, this is also my way to help people who are going through pain,” she explained.
Looking back, she said her experiences eventually influenced her decision to care for other children.
“My childhood was very tough. I want to relive my childhood, but now I am old. One way to actually do that is to leave it to other kids,” she said.
Public health advocacy
Dr Nyarko’s commitment to child health extends beyond the hospital. Her public health advocacy began around 2013 through missionary outreaches, where she gave health presentations in communities.
During medical school, she continued with health outreaches, radio presentations in Kumasi and health screening, including subsidised sickle cell screening for students.
She became more active in online health advocacy around late 2024 and has since spoken on radio and television and participated in health education programmes in communities, churches and corporate institutions, with increasing focus on maternal and child health.
Among the issues that are of concern to her are excessive screen use and poor nutrition among children, especially those under two years.
“The answer is not to completely remove technology from children's lives, but to ensure that phones and other devices do not replace homework, meals, physical activity, play and family interaction. They should also be monitored,” she said.
She also called for greater attention to children’s nutrition, particularly the growing availability of highly processed foods and sugary drinks.
Medical sisters
Her concern for children’s well-being also extended to the women who cared for them. In 2026, Dr Nyarko founded Medical Sisters, a community for women in health care and related fields, after recognising the need for stronger mentorship and support among women in the profession.
“I want a community of women in health care where you can have a big sister, medical sister and have a heart-to-heart conversation,” she said.
The initiative focuses on mentorship, leadership, wellness, professional development and advocacy, under the motto, “caring for the woman who cares”.
Thinking beyond the consulting room
For all her commitment to clinical practice, Dr Nyarko is already thinking about how her work can reach more children.
She hopes to eventually work in an international organisation focused on children or maternal and child health, where she can contribute to policies, programmes and interventions that affect larger populations.
