Preface
Professor So Yoon Kim, Yonsei University College of Medicine
I am honored to introduce the book “The primary health care in Africa: progress and best practices in the case of Ghana” to the international community. I would like to thank the representative authors, Agani Afaya, Eric Osei, Kennedy Diema Konlan and Prince Kubi Appiah, editors and publisher for all the efforts put in to advancing and completing this book. Also, I would like to thank Prof. John Owusu Gyapong, Dr. Sena Cynthia Kpeglo, Prof. Fred Binka, Prof. Francis Bruno Kwabla Zotor, Prof. Harry Kwami Tagbor, Prof. Frank Edwin, Prof. Ernestina Donkor, Prof. Paul Amuna, Prof. Prudence Portia, and Prof. Margaret Abena Kweku for sharing many thoughts to begin this work. Since the Alma-ata declaration in 1978, the concept of primary health care has long been emphasized as a whole-societal approach to provide comprehensive health care ranging from health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation to palliative care, with the primary goal of achieving better health services for all. Since the declaration, many countries attempted to improve health by creating, strengthening or readjusting health systems to provide expansive health services to the people. African countries, including Ghana, also made achievements over the 40 years. In this book, the progress and best practices of Africa in terms of primary health care is presented, with much focus on Ghana. We hope that the case study of Ghana could be an exemplary case of adopting primary health care policies on its own background and social context.
This work is a part of the collaborative project named “Health and Medical Education Competency Enhancement Project in University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ghana” between Yonsei University and UHAS, which is facilitated by the Ministry of Education and supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea.
About the Representative authors
Agani Afaya
He is a nurse with over 6 years of clinical experience and a faculty member at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana. He is a researcher with over 30 research publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is also an editorial board member for BMC Nursing and BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. His research interest areas are focused on women’s health, clinical nursing, and public health issues.
Eric Osei
Motivated faculty with over 19 years of progressive experience in Public Health practice and teaching. Offering expertise in teaching, research, and service at the university level, with aptitude in community mobilization. His area of expertise is community health and infectious disease control. At the moment, he holds a Ph.D in Public Health, specialising in epidemiology. He has research interest in maternal and child health, infectious disease epidemiology, disease surveillance and health programme monitoring and evaluation.
Kennedy Diema Konlan
Mr. Konlan Kennedy Diema is a Ph.D. student at Yonsei University and a faculty with the Department of Public Health Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Health and Allied Sciences. He has over nine years of working experience in primary health care and clinical care nursing in Ghana's urban and rural communities. He also worked as a programs coordinator for the Dajrim foundation in Bunkpurugu - a non-profit, local charity organization that seeks to protect the welfare of the vulnerable. He is a registered general nurse. Mr. Konlan's previous research was in malaria control, maternal, child, and adolescent health, clinical research, client satisfaction, neglected tropical diseases, and health care determinants. His current research focuses on intervention-based research that reduces the burden associated with non-communicable diseases in Africa. He has several research publications in peer review journals.
Prince Kubi Appiah
Dr. Prince Kubi Appiah is a Public Health Ethicist and Nutritionist, and a Lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Health, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho - Ghana. Prior to this, he worked with the Ghana Health Service for 15 years in various capacities including as District Nutrition Officer. He holds PhD in Medical Law and Ethics from Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea, a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ghana, Legon. He also has a Certificate and Diploma in Community Health from the College of Health and Well-being, Kintampo, Ghana. He practised as a community health worker for 15 years, working as a Field Technician on the growth and development of children and women; and as a Technical Officer responsible for the nutritional wellbeing of the population. His area of research is public health nutrition (including child, adolescent and maternal nutrition, Nutrition in HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis, nutrition of the mentally and physically challenged
persons, and nutrition law and policies). He also has an interest in health law and professional ethics. Dr. Appiah has several scientific publications.