Train professionals to be adaptable to healthcare trends: Dr Kuma-Aboagye urges health colleges

The Director-General (DG) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, has urged public health schools to focus on training health professionals who are not only knowledgeable in their various disciplines but also adaptable to the rapidly changing landscape of healthcare.

That, he said, was because public health practitioners would need to advance the pace of their skills in order to respond to the complex global health challenges which ranged from climate change, pandemics to long-running research activities. 

“The curriculum must, therefore, evolve to integrate new technologies, research technologies and strong professional training into the curriculum. This will create a need to improve student-faculty relations,” he added. 

Event 

Dr Kuma-Aboagye was speaking at an event held yesterday to climax the 30th anniversary celebrations of the University of Ghana (UG) School of Public Health (SPH). 

The celebration, launched in July this year, was on the theme; "Three decades of Public Health Education, Research and Service: Strengthening Global Health Systems."

It brought together school leadership, government officials, faculty and staff, alumni, students, health professionals and practitioners as well as development partners.

It was chaired by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Development of UG, Professor Felix Ankomah Asante, who highlighted the numerous contributions of the SPH to Ghana’s healthcare system. 

Partnerships 

The DG of the GHS stated the importance of global and resilient health programmes, emphasising the need to prepare to respond effectively to emerging health threats.

To that end, he commended the school for its innovative collaborative efforts with local and international partners that had helped enrich the institution and encouraged them to continue pursuing partnerships to tackle complex health issues, gain critical insights and advance the scientific understanding necessary to address cancerous illnesses. 

The Country Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Ghana office, Dong Hyun Lee, who was the guest speaker pledged his outfit’s commitment to aid the school achieve its goal of an equitable healthcare system. 

Contribution, vision 

The Dean of the UG-SPH, Professor Kwasi Torpey, said the school had over three decades educated and trained about 2,000 practitioners, researchers and policy makers who had gone on to serve across the world by leading efforts to combat infectious diseases, improved maternal and child health, promoted health equity and strengthened health systems. 

He further highlighted the various infrastructural projects due to the help of various development partners over the three decades of its mandate. 

“The future of public health is one that requires adaptability and a renewed commitment to equity and justice.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder of our global interconnectedness and the need for responsive care and equitable health. Our role as educators and medical professionals is to prepare the future generation to confront challenges we cannot face,” he added. 

Therefore, Prof. Torpey said moving into the next decade, the institution was committed to innovation, embracing the potential technology in public health and reinforcing its commitment to sustainabilityº.