"Woman’s Outlook – SCOTTISH NURSES ABROAD: DEVELOPMENTS ON GOLD COAST

...Two women doctors, whose homes are in Edinburgh, have done important work – Dr Sybil Russell and Dr Agnes Savage, who both graduated at Edinburgh University. They plan to establish “nursing schools” in three of the principal towns – Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast – and there girls who left school will receive a general education of two years duration before training. Among other schemes it is intended to introduce a State medical certificate so that a Gold Coast nurse may eventually become a sister or matron without leaving her own country."

This excerpt from an article published in The Scotsman in 1947, proudly describes the work of Edinburgh graduates, including Agnes, in colonial Ghana. In reality, Agnes' skill and experience was underappreciated when she first arrived in Ghana due to racist and misogynist attitudes. Despite her Scottish education and birth, the Colonial Office employed her under a local contract, affording her a far lower salary than her white male counterparts. Her case eventually attracted the attention of the headmaster of the prestigious Achimota College, who successfully petitioned for Agnes to be given a European contract.