Ghanaian-German Centre for Development Studies and Health Research -Division of Health Research
Content and Goals
The Centre for Development Studies and Health Research is one of the five African Centers of Excellence funded by the African Excellence Program of the German Foreign Office and facilitated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Research into public health addresses major health issues on patient, community, and population levels, aiming at holistic solutions. The Division of Health Research of the Ghanaian-German Centre offers an interdisciplinary PhD program, strengthens research capacities in the West African region, and contributes to research networking in public health. The close collaboration with the Division of Development Studies at the Centre will enhance this approach.
As an innovative feature, the PhD program encourages doctoral students from Africa and Germany to work in tandems and thus bridges academic institutions (ACBridge PhD program). In addition, the various perspectives of biomedical research – epidemiology, clinical sciences, and biosciences – will be represented by three such tandems of PhD students in working groups. Each research team of PhD students will approach a relevant region-specific public health topic.
Regional research institutes with established field research activities will be involved, e.g. the Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC) and the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC). The INDEPTH network will link the PhD program to additional research institutions across the African continent. A wide range of interactions beyond health related sciences will be possible through the network of the African Centres of Excellence sponsored by the African Excellence program.
The Partners:
University of Ghana, School of Public Health, Legon, Ghana
For the last 15 years the School of Public Health (SPH) at the University of Ghana has been the outstanding institute for the training of public health experts in the public and private sector in Ghana. The SPH provides a strong focus on the practical public health training within the concept “Schools of Public Health without Walls”.
- Prof. Dr. Fred N. Binka (director)
University Hospital Heidelberg, Section of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Germany
The Section of Clinical Tropical Medicine teaches courses on tropical medicine and infectious diseases at the under- and postgraduate level and cares for patients at the Medical School. Research activities cover a wide range of health issues with a strong focus on infectious diseases in Africa.
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Junghanss (director)
- Jaswinder Kaur, M.A. (coordination)
Bielefeld University, School of Public Health (BiSPH), Bielefeld, Germany
Bielefeld School of Public Health is an interdisciplinary centre of Public Health research and education in Germany. It aims at developing theoretical foundations as well as practical tools for new public health with an international perspective.
- Prof. Dr. Oliver Razum
Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Basel, Switzerland
The mandate of the Swiss Tropical and Public Heath Institute is to contribute to health development at a local, national and international level through research, teaching and training, and services. The Department of Medical Parasitology and Infection Biology has long standing research collaborations on infectious diseases in Ghana.
- Prof. Dr. Gerd Pluschke
Project Coordination at the Ghanaian-German Center for Development Studies and Health Research – Division of Health Research
- Prof. Dr. Richard Adanu
- Dr. Fenna Veeltmann