Global Health Workforce Programme
In partnership with the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), the Ghana College of Physicians of Surgeons (GCPS), the Aga Khan University in Kenya and The Association for Laboratory Medicine, the College was awarded a grant under the Global Health Workforce programme (GHWP), funded by the Department of Health and Social Care UK in December 2023. The project ran from February 2024 until January 2025 and its purpose was to improve the quality of chemical pathology training and service provision in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
The wider Global Health Workforce Programme involving numerous other health partnerships was directed by Global Health Partnerships (formerly The Tropical Heath Education Trust [THET]). The programme as a whole aimed to develop the health workforce in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, supporting them to build stronger, more resilient health systems for post-pandemic recovery and to make progress towards universal health coverage. Our project most closely linked with these 2 Global Heath Partnership aims:
- to build the capacity of the workforce to serve in these countries, through improved retention and training opportunities
- to strengthen the performance of the health workforce in these countries through improved curriculum, policies and regulation.
In Ghana, there is a declining number of chemical pathologists trained to fellowship level and a dwindling number of trainees coming through the programme. In Kenya, while the College of Pathologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (COPECSA) has established a programme to train specialist pathologists to fellowship level, there is no training programme in place for chemical pathology.
Our project aimed to implement strategies and programmes that would tackle identified gaps and to leverage strengths already possessed across Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. It aimed to provide new training opportunities in underserved areas and develop the capacity of local faculty/trainers to continue providing teaching; improving the performance of the health workforce.
Deliverables and achievements
Over the course of 12 months we achieved the following:
- produced a chemical pathology curriculum to harmonising standards for chemical pathology fellowship training (last 2 years) in Kenya in collaboration with representatives from the National Postgraduate Medical College in Nigeria (NPMCN), and the Aga Khan University in Kenya
- 2 chemical pathologists in Ghana received mentoring by a Nigerian senior chemical pathologist
- 2 scoping visits took place – one to Ghana to make recommendations about what needed to be implemented to get the chemical pathologists to fellowship standard, and another to Kenya to make recommendations about what is required to establish a chemical pathology fellowship programme
- a 12-week virtual certificate course for point-of-care testing for 8 Kenyan chemical pathologists was piloted, including a 3-day in-person event at the Aga Khan Universety, Kenya
- delivered 4 CPD-accredited quarterly virtual continuing professional development (CPD) and continuing medical education (CME) webinars with the help of specialists in the UK and Africa, to support existing chemical pathologists and related healthcare professionals. These were underpinned by 9 monthly virtual case report sessions. From our global health lecture series, you can replay the case reports and webinars.
- a CPD-accredited virtual day for already qualified chemical pathologists and related healthcare professionals featuring 5 talks.
Project roundup
In this video, we reflect on the Global Health Workforce project through the voices of the UK project team, international partners, and a participant based in Africa. Discover the key achievements, challenges, and impact of the project across the year.
