The Institute of Health Research (IHR) at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) organized a training workshop for the malaria research group of the university on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 under the theme “Improving Malaria Research through Knowledge of Current Public Health Practice.” The objective of the workshop was to improve the relevance and quality of malaria research in UHAS by equipping faculty with current knowledge and Public Health practice related to malaria control.
Professor Evelyn Ansah, Director of the university’s Institute for Malaria Research, who organized the workshop, said she expected the workshop to lead to stronger linkages between the Malaria Research Group, recipients of UHAS Research Fund 2019, and key Public Health leaders in the Volta Region, as well as “greater awareness of current Public Health policies and issues in Malaria to inform relevant and improved quality of research on malaria.”
Professor Margaret Gyapong, Director of IHR, said she was delighted to see the Malaria Research Group functional, and also elated to see the schools heavily represented. She mentioned the need for collaboration among the various schools of the university, IHR and the Ghana Health Service.
Professor John Gyapong, Vice Chancellor of UHAS, in his remarks stated that researchers at UHAS must seek to make an impact by finding solutions to control malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. He said researchers should have a vision of “contributing to the bigger picture; that is how we will become relevant” adding, “no goal is less important than the other” and advised researchers to work as a team in order to be able to affect decision making with their findings.
Dr. Emmanuel Kasu, from the Public Health Department of the Ho Teaching Hospital, presented on “Preventive strategies and uncomplicated malaria”. According to him, the policy for the treatment of malaria has been changed; persons must now be tested either by microscopy or RDT prior to treatment. For treatment strategies, the Ghana Health Service promotes the use of Insecticide Treated Materials (ITMs); encourages Intermittent Treatment (IPTp) of malaria in pregnancy; undertakes Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and implements Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) in target regions.
Other presentations included Dr. Martin Dela Ahiavih, a Regional Malaria Facilitator based at Adidome Hospital, on “ Severe malaria” and “ Malaria in pregnancy”; Professor Evelyn Ansah, Director of the Centre for Malaria Research at UHAS, on “Diagnosis of malaria”; and Professor Seth Owusu-Agyei, Pro Vice Chancellor of UHAS, on “Linking clinical and laboratory presentation of malaria in research”.
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