Minister of health, Mr Agyemang-Manu with other delegates during the conference
On April 27-30, 2018, the Ghana Physicians and Surgeons Foundation of North America (GPSF) held its 16th annual conference in Los Angeles, California, USA. The conference theme was “Non-Communicable Disease: Prevention and Management Dilemma”. Distinguished speakers from both the USA and Africa graced the occasion. Notable personalities who were present included Honorable Mr. Agyemang-Manu, Minister of Health, Ghana, H.E. Robert Sichinga, Jr., Honorary Consul of Zambia in California, and Mr. Akwasi Awua Ababio, the Director of Diaspora Affairs (Office of the President, Republic of Ghana).
The guest speaker, H.E. Robert Sichinga, Jr. talked about the need to close Africa’s healthcare disparity gap. Other topics presented included:
*Assessing disparities in global non- communicable diseases: what survey data tells us. *Strategies to combat cardiovascular diseases. *Frontiers in cardiac care in Ghana. *Chronic Disease: A “Side Effect” of food? *Health and sex education to cancer screenings in Ghana. *Hepatocellular cancer and updates on management of breast, colon and lung cancer. *The global burden of neurological disorders. *The impact of religion and culture.
The Ghanaian delegation was led by Honorable Mr. Agyemang-Manu and included the Director General of Ghana Health Services (GHS), Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons ( GCPS), Professor Jacob Plange-Rhule, the Director of the Ghana Medical and Dental Council (GMDC), Dr. Eli Atikpui and his deputy Dr Divine Banyubala, Dr. Kenneth Sagoe, a Health Service Consultant, the Vice President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Frank Serebour and the CEO of the University of Ghana Medical Center, Professor Aaron Lawson .
Given the vision and mission of GPSF, it is always mutually beneficial when the leadership of Ghana’s Health Sector attend the GPSF annual conference. As part of the proceedings at the 2018 conference, the Ghanaian delegation gave a presentation on the current state of affairs at the GCPS and Ghana Health Services, the advances made by these institutions and present challenges.
There were both formal and informal plenary sessions which facilitated cordial discussions on areas of mutual concerns. These sessions provided ideas and suggestions on how GPSF could assist in medical education, health care delivery and health maintenance in Ghana. The Director of the Diaspora Affairs reaffirmed the recognition of medical professionals in the diaspora as an untapped resource and reiterated that his office at the presidency would work with GPSF to facilitate projects that will be undertaken by the organization in Ghana.
The 2019 GPSF conference will be held between April 26-28, 2019 and the theme will be “Rethinking Medical Education to Meet Demands of Contemporary Health Care ”. Further conference details and call for speakers and abstracts will be announced later in the year.
