Sir Michael Wood

Sir Michael Wood (28 January 1918 – 16 May 1987), was a British surgeon. He studied medicine, and in 1943 he qualified as a surgeon and soon after was married to Susan Buxton, daughter of African missionaries.

Wood's wife's deep-rooted interest in Africa, after spending her early life in Belgian Congo, led to the move of the family to East Africa. They arrived at the port of Mombasa in 1946. With the help of Gerald Anderson, Wood established himself as a general surgeon in East Africa. Soon he found he was regularly being called to emergencies beyond the confines of the city of Nairobi. Often he had to charter flights to remote locations where no hospitals existed. The number of these emergencies escalated and became a challenge. Mindful of what lay ahead, Wood learnt to fly. Wood's fundraising trips brought him into contact with famous people: the Aga Khan IV, Vice-President Richard Nixon, as well as David Rockefeller. and in the 1985 New Years Honours List he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1986, he was given the Raoul Wallenberg Award for Humanity.

Wood retired from being Director General of AMREF in 1983 and soon afterward went on to establish Farm Africa (Food and Agricultural Research Mission). In 1987 Wood died of cancer at his home in Nairobi, Kenya.