PROF. MARCEL TANNER
Director Emeritus, Swiss TPH (Keynote Speaker)

Prof. Marcel Tanner is a Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Parasitology at the University of Basel, and Adjunct Professor at the Federal Institute of Technology, Switzerland. He is Director Emeritus of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. Professor Tanner’s research has ranged over the past four decades from basic research on the cell biology and immunology of malaria, schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis and filariasis to epidemiological and public health research on risk assessment, vulnerability, health impact, and district health planning. He is the Chair of the Board of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi).

PROF. LYDIA AZIATO
Vice Chancellor, UHAS (Chairperson)

Prof. Lydia Aziato is the Vice Chancellor of UHAS. Prior to this, she was the first substantive Dean of the University of Ghana School of Nursing and Midwifery from 2019 to 2022. She founded Research Mentorship Alliance, an NGO that gives her the platform to develop the research skills of young scientists in Ghana. She is the President of Chi Omicron Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the second largest Nursing organization globally, and has served the organization in many capacities, such as reviewer for awards, conference abstracts, and moderator of conference presentations. Prof. Aziato has received many awards for professional and academic excellence. » READ MORE

TOGBI PROF. TAGBOR III
Pro-Vice Chancellor, UHAS

Professor Harry K. Tagbor is the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UHAS, prior to which he was Dean of the School of Medicine, UHAS. He is a Public Health Physician, dedicated to fully providing quality health service to Ghanaians. He is also a Professor of Public Health, with a passion for mentoring faculty members to enable them perform optimally, and strengthening capacity for postgraduate training in the University. He was responsible for the development and running of PhD courses, supervisor training for academic faculty, and establishment of a mentorship program for postdoctoral fellows at the College of Health Sciences KNUST with funding from the Wellcome Trust and later from the DANIDA Building Stronger Universities Initiative. Currently, with other funding through the DELTAS Initiative, he has initiated similar activities at UHAS. He was recently installed as the Chief of Kedzi, VR Ghana. » READ MORE

PROF. MARGARET GYAPONG
Director, IHR-UHAS (Chair, Organising Committee)

Prof. Margaret Gyapong is a medical Anthropologist by training. She is the Director of the Institute of Health Research (IHR) and Coordinator of the Centre for Health Policy and Implementation Research (CHPIR) at UHAS. Under her leadership, CHPIR was designated a WHO/TDR Satellite Training Centre for Implementation Research in 2018. Prof. Gyapong is also the co-president of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH). She has been recognised globally and won several awards for her work, including the Outstanding Female Scientist Prize (2020) from the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). » READ MORE

MS. DANASHREE MOODLEY
Core Products Consultant, Elsevier

Ms. Daneshree Moodley is the Elsevier Core Products Consultant and she specializes in enhancing brand equity in Sub-Saharan Africa. She has worked within the RELX Group (Lexis Nexis and Elsevier) for 10 years in the sectors of Legal, Scientific and Medical. She works with Research Professionals and Universities to enhance the research experience. This would be to improve efficiencies and upskill academics on using smart tools in research. She also specializes in capacity building on Publishing Research and improving research processes.

PROF. FREDERICK ATO ARMAH
Director of Research and Programmes, AAU (Plenary Speaker)

Prof. Frederick Ato Armah is the Director of Research and Programmes for the African Association of Universities (AAU). He has been a Professor of Environmental and Sustainability Science at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) since August 2019. He was the Director of the Directorate of Research Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC), UCC from April 2019 to July 2022. Prof. Armah is an interdisciplinary scientist with deep interest in the natural and human dimensions of environment and health. He has served as a consultant to several organisations and government agencies, both locally and internationally.

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DR. ANTHONY OFOSU
Deputy Director-General, GHS (Plenary Speaker)

Dr. Anthony Ofosu is the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service. He was instrumental in improving the health information system of Ghana by leading the implementation of the nation-wide deployment of an integrated national health information system using the dhis2. He also led in the deployment of the etracker for TB, HIV and maternal and child health services in the health sector. He was a Population and Leadership Fellow at University of Washington Seattle from 2001 to 2002. He is a public health physician. He is a fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians, and has coauthored and published peer reviewed articles on various public health topics.

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MS. BELYNDA AMANKWAA
Programme Specialist HIV, Health and Development, UNDP

Ms. Belynda Amankwa is a Program Specialist for HIV Health and Development at the Ghana Country office of the United Nations Development Program. She is a public health professional with over 15 years’ experience in health and development and a deep passion for addressing the key public health challenges of our time. Her current work includes supporting the development and implementation of innovative, sustainable, inclusive health interventions that promote equity and actually make a difference. Belynda holds a master’s in public health (MPH) and BSc in Zoology from the University of Ghana.

DR. CHRYSANTUS KUBIO
Regional Director of Health Services, VR

Dr. Chrysantus Kubio is the Director of Health Services for Volta Region. Prior to this, he was the Director of Health Services for the Savannah Region from 2019 to 2023. He is a Public Health Physician Specialist and Member of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. He previously served as Medical Superintendent, West Gonja Hospital from 2004 to 2015 and as West Gonja District Director of Health Services from 2007 to 2016. Dr Kubio was reposted to Saboba District Health Directorate as District Director of Health Services from 2016 to 2018. He served another dual management position in the Karaga District as Acting Medical Superintendent of Karaga District Hospital from June 2018 to February 2019 and Karaga District Director of Health Services.

DR. PATIENCE COFIE
Country Director, PATH

Dr. Patience Cofie is the Ghana Country Director of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, where she provides strategic direction and technical leadership to all PATH country projects. She has a wealth of experience in managing health projects in multi-cultural settings. Her expertise spans across business development, research management, project design, management and evaluation, multisectoral coordination, health policy advocacy, mainstreaming gender equity and community-based health insurance promotion, she contributed tremendously to mainstreaming gender issues in the Ministry of Health (MoH), the development of the gender policy and development of newborn health and PPH strategies in Ghana. She holds a PhD in Public Health from Heidelberg University in Germany.

PROF. FRANCIS KASOLO
Country Representative, WHO Ghana

Prof. Francis Chisaka Kasolo is the Country Representative for the World Health Organization in Ghana. He is an infectious disease physician with specialization in clinical virology. He has worked with WHO in various capacities for the past 20 years. Prior to this appointment, Prof. Kasolo was Chief of Staff to the WHO Regional Director for Africa, responsible for advising the Regional Director on policy and strategic issues. Prof. Kasolo also served as Director for Ebola Preparedness with the United Nations Mission on Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER) in Accra in 2014, as well as Director for Disease prevention and Control at the WHO Regional Office for Africa from 2011 to 2015. He holds MD, MSC, PhD degrees, and is a Fellow of the Royal Colleague of Physicians, Edinburgh. He has over 60 scientific publications in various peer reviewed Journals.

DR. THERESA L. ADU
University Librarian, UHAS

Dr. Theresa Adu joined the University of Health and Allied Sciences in September 2021 as the first female University Librarian. A seasoned librarian with over 27 years of professional experience, she served seventeen years in a Special Library as the Librarian and Manager of the Documentation Centre and WTO National Enquiry Point of the Ghana Standards Authority. She also served ten years as the University Librarian for Wisconsin International University College, Ghana. She specializes in Intellectual Property and related issues and has published several articles in world-renowned library journals. She is a reviewer for Mousaion, a South African Journal of Information Studies, and the Journal for Academic Librarianship. Dr. Adu is also the current Country Coordinator for copyright issues for Electronic Information for Librarians (EISL).