The School of Public Health at the University of Ghana has launched its 30th anniversary celebration to project the significant milestones chalked in the field of academia and public policy contributions in Ghana and across the continent.
The theme of the 30th Anniversary celebrations is ; ” Three Decades of Public Health Education, Research And Service ; Strengthening Global Health Systems “.
The well attended ceremony which was held on the 3rd of July ,2024 drew a large participation from government officials, faculty and staff of the School, special dignitaries from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization Ghana office as well as students and old management officials of the School.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with UniversNews, the Pro Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic and Student Affairs , Professor Gordon Awandare indicated that the University Management are very happy with the significant successes chalked by the School of Public Health in terms over churning out over 1,500 students across various study disciplines who are shaping society and contributing quality output to the field of science and medicine in Ghana and globally which puts the University on the global map for recognition.
He added that in the next 30 years and more of the School , the plan of the University and its strategic partners are putting place policies which will further improve the capacity and human resource base to undertake more groundbreaking research in the field of Public Health to create innovative ways of solving emerging problems of the highly competitive domain of health globally.
” The Management of this prestigious institution , the University of Ghana is very pleased with the enviable and awe inspiring heights the School of Public Health has been able to achieving in these past 3 decades which has culminated in the over 1,500 alumni who are spread across the country , continent and globe shaping the field of medicine and science which brings much eyeballs to the mother entity, and as such gets us more opportunities to attract global research grants to further expand the tentacles of the SPH into world class territory in line with the strategic goal of the University over the next decade with special focus on groundbreaking research and innovation as the fulcrum.
We are ready to establish more global connections with our sister universities to get more mentoring and scholarship opportunities for both faculty and students of the School to be able to reach their fullest potentials in the ultra competitive world of medicine and channel their dividends into pushing the efforts of the entity to more universal acclaim in the coming decades of growth”.
Also, the Dean of the School of Public Health, Professor Kwesi Torpey intimated that his vision for the 30th anniversary celebrations and beyond is to develop more sustainable partnerships and research collaborations with both educational institutions and corporate organizations over the next few years to give more prominence to the world class abilities of the faculty of the School across the continent and beyond.
He reiterated the fact the School remains the destination of choice for World Health Research Projects and Clinical Evaluations as well as donor funded medical investigations from the USAID for the Anglophone West Africa , which shows the calibre of professionals working in the school to disseminate knowledge to the next generation of public health personnel.
” I am very proud to be heading this prestigious school that is shaping up policy and science education and undertaking deep seated research that transform the teaching and learning experience of our students and staff , which has been the hallmark since the early 1990s and has seen its impacts transcend national boundaries into the sub region and establishing working partnerships within the West African sub region and leaving our undeniable footprints on the continent as well involving big ticket research opportunities that are being funded by globally respected multilateral agencies like the WHO and the USAID.
Apart from our partnerships on research , the next aim of the School is to leverage on existing inter university relationships to solicit scholarship opportunities for both students and faculty to get more hands – on experience in various locations across the globe and geographical environments which further sharpens their intellectual abilities , skillsets to prepare them adequately for the world of work in the field of science and innovations”.
History of the School ;
The School of Public Health (SPH) was established in 1994, in response to a growing demand for a cadre of Public Health Practitioners who will provide leadership in Public Health reforms in the country primarily to train Public Health Practitioners.
The training enables these highly trained health professionals perform effectively at District, Regional and National levels within governmental, quasi-governmental, non-governmental and private organizations. Over the years, the school has introduced new programmes as its effort at meeting the specialized skills needed for the transformation of the health sector.
The programs are also available to non-health personnel whose activities have an impact on the environment and public health.
At SPH we believe that properly trained Public Health personnel will offer technical leadership in critical disciplines such as Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Health Informatics and e-Health, Environmental hazards and related-diseases, Occupational Health, Social & Behavioural Sciences, Training Research and Planning and in the implementation of specific disease control programmes such as Malaria, AIDS, non-communicable diseases and neglected tropical diseases.
