The overall objective of this proposal is to build upon existing and extensive occupational and environmental health (OEH) research and training collaborations between academic and government partner institutions in Ghana and the University of Michigan (UM) in order to enhance capacity for scientific research, research training, and curricular activities that address and inform key national occupational and environmental health priorities and policies. In doing so, we propose to increase capacity in Ghana to serve as a regional, GEOHealth Hub of occupational and environmental health in West Africa. Key activities include a needs and opportunities assessment on OEH in Ghana and West Africa, academic planning and curriculum development workshops to determine regional academic needs, identification of priority OEH areas of research, and participant evaluation. The proposed activities will leverage numerous pre-existing strengths among consortium partners that include the University of Michigan (UM), the University of Ghana (UG), the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and the Ghanaian Ministry of Health/ Ghana Health Service (MOH/GHS). In addition, this newly proposed regional strategy in West Africa will be informed by the long experience of key academic institutions in South Africa, the University of Cape Town and the University of KwaZulu Natal, of working in close coordination with UM to build regional OEH capacity in the Southern African Development Community.
TO PUBLIC HEALTH: The proposed activities are expected to result in detailed planning and regional consensus on creation of a Ghana-based West African regional hub of occupational and environmental health. In doing so the proposed activities will further strengthen the capacity of Ghanaian and regional academic and governmental institutions to conduct environmental and occupational health scientific research and educational training, and inform key national occupational and environmental health priorities and policies.
