A one-week training programme that seeks to boost the capacity managers of healthcare institutions in the West African sub-region has opened in Accra.
Organised by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), the training programme is also meant to expose health practitioners to the modern technique of improving healthcare delivery and addressing challenges affecting the health sector in the continent.
The programme, dubbed Management of Development Institute (MDI), has participants from Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
It is being sponsored by Johnson and Johnson, a global manufacturer of healthcare products.
Speaking at the opening ceremony in Accra, the West Africa Regional Director of MDI, Professor Sallah, said since the programme commenced, more than 900 participants from 32 African countries had benefited.
He said the programme had been designed to enhance the leadership and management skills of programme managers to implement their stated national health priorities.
Professor Sallah, who is also a Senior Lecturer, said GIMPA, over the past years, had championed the campaign for the improvement of the healthcare sector on the continent.
The institution, he said, had developed to become one of the best institutions that trained people in various fields.
Need for collaboration
A member of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) Board of Directors, Mr Atta Paidoo, who opened the ceremony, said although more resources had gone into the health sector, little had been achieved so far.
He said there was the need for various health managers in the sub-region to team up and work together in addressing challenges that hindered the growth of the health sector.
Mr Paidoo attributed the slow pace of growth in the health sector in the continent to the lack of collaboration among the various healthcare institutions in the country.
He said the only way for Africans to improve the healthcare delivery sector was for countries to collaborate on how to find solutions to issues affecting the growth of the health sector.
Considering the huge investment in the sector, Mr Paidoo stressed on need for health managers to adopt modern methods of improving healthcare delivery.
He, therefore, commended GIMPA and Johnson and Johnson for the efforts to enhance healthcare delivery in the sub-region.
Mr Paidoo also called on the participants to take advantage of the programme to upgrade their skills and use their knowledge to contribute towards the growth of the continent.
Fact sheet
More than 900 health managers in the sub-region have benefited from the Management of Development Institute (MDI) programme since 2012.
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By: Franklin Badu Jnr/citifmonline.com/Ghana