Dr. Emmanuel Yao Voado is the founder and CEO of Wonder Medical City and the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, bringing decades of cutting-edge experience in the medical field. Born in 1971 to a Christian family of limited resources in Tefle, Volta Region, Ghana, he always aspired to break the backbone of poverty through education. At the age of 12, he received a prophecy that he would go abroad to further his education. In 1985, at age 14, this prophecy was fulfilled, although with challenges. After taking the exams to send students to Cuba, he placed first in his municipality but was unjustly replaced by the son of the most powerful politician there. A concerned citizen intervened, taking him to the office of the late President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings, which allowed him to participate in the national test, where he again placed first.
Dr. Voado studied in Cuba for 17 years, progressing from junior high school to becoming a medical doctor 29 years ago and a neurosurgeon 25 years ago. Throughout his education, he consistently graduated summa cum laude. He authored a book on Organic Chemistry at the end of his senior high school in Cuba, where he excelled in chemistry quizzes among students from 36 countries. At the conclusion of his neurosurgical training in Cuba, he wrote a book on spinal surgery titled “Lumbar Discopathies.”
Upon completing his neurosurgical course in 2001, Dr. Voado was invited to work in Belize as the country’s first local neurosurgeon for five years, during which no surgical mortality cases were reported under his care. His notable achievements in Belize included performing spinal microscopic surgeries on the longest-serving Prime Minister of Belize and the daughter of the Father of the Nation of Belize.
Currently, Dr. Voado is focused on making groundbreaking discoveries in neurosurgery to improve the prognosis of conditions such as spinal cord and brain injuries, brain tumors, and spinal degenerative disc diseases. Under the mentorship of Dr. Robert Grossman, a renowned neurosurgeon, he served as a Clinical Research Specialist, authoring several research papers presented at international conferences of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons of America.
In Ghana, he co-led the team that separated the Bansah conjoined twins and is part of the team executing many groundbreaking surgeries in West Africa, including the highly publicized awake brain surgeries.
Dr. Voado was deeply touched by the spirit of selflessness of the Cubans and Americans and this shaped his world view in the subconscious level till he came to the conscious realization that a meaningful life is not being rich, being popular, being highly educated or being perfect…It is about being real, being humble, being able to share ourselves and touch the lives of others. It is only then that we could have a full, happy and contented life. He returned home after 29 years to give back to his people in the medical field, especially, Neurological Surgery and philanthropic efforts, aiming to alleviate the struggles of the helpless, destitute, orphans, vulnerable children, widows and their children, the elderly, the mentally and physically disabled, including the deaf and blind, students, patients, and the public at large through the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, a non-profit organization.