Accra, Ghana - Quality Health leadership has been recognized as a key to ensuring progress in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goal three on health. 

At the 70th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa held in August 2020, Ministers of Health recommended that the WHO Leadership Programme for Health Transformation in Africa, be extended to Ministries of Health in the Region. 

In Ghana, WHO and the Ministry of Health, with support from the UK Department of Health and Social Care through the health workforce programme are leveraging the programme to build the necessary leadership and management competencies to drive its reform agenda and effectively address the rapidly evolving health sector needs through the Leadership for Health Transformation programme. 

“It gladdens my heart that Ghana has benefited from this initiative. The ministry will continue to work with WHO to consolidate the gains for a truly transformed health sector in Ghana with these groomed leaders.” said the Minister of Health, Hon Kwaku Agyemang-Manu

Since its inception in Ghana, 109 leaders and senior managers from the Ministry of Health and allied agencies have benefited from the four-month intensive training and mentorship to position them to lead the health sector agenda.

“These trainings have contributed to nurturing a new breed of agile Health leaders, for whom learning, and self-reflection constitute their ways of working”. Prof Francis Kasolo, WHO Representative to Ghana.

In 2022, a special cohort of 27 women went through the programme in line with WHO and the Ministry of Health’s commitment to ensuring gender equity within the senior leadership of the health sector. The programme has provided the required high-level leadership and strategic support to senior leaders in the health sector to enable them to transform health outcomes in Ghana.

“The transformational leadership journey paved the way for me to become a strategic leader. I have now institutionalized mentorship and support for team members, which has improved the efficiency of my team members.” Dr Shirley Owusu-Ofori, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, who was a member of the special cohort of women who benefited from the programme.

Additionally, the capacity of over 13 200 health workers, including at least 5900 women has been built through the health workforce programme to complement the work of the groomed leaders.