Central University, Birmingham hold workshop on health economics

Central University and the Birmingham University in the United Kingdom (UK) held a joint Academic Workshop on Health Economics titled ‘Health Economics Capacity Building in Ghana’.

The collaborative event between the Department of Economics of the Central University and the School of Health Sciences of the Birmingham University came off on 3rd September 2021 at the Tomriek Hotel in Accra.

Health Economists, academics from public and private universities in Ghana and members of the public attended the event.

Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Health, Honorable Deputy Minister for Health, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini reiterated the importance of relevant data from Academia to guide decision making efforts of government.

Alluding to the current global crises caused by Covid 19 pandemic, he stated that the challenge of allocating limited health resources has underscored the need for expert and relevant scientific data to help with the effective management of health delivery in the country and in the world at large.

He also called for the need to develop more cost effective alternatives and more economic solutions to health financing. He applauded the collaborative initiative between the two institutions and promised government’s support for more health related research.

Presentations were made by Professor Anthony Amoah, former head of Economics Department at Central University and current acting Dean of the School of Sustainable Development of the university of Environment and Sustainable Development, Reverend Sister Professor Eugenia Amporfu from the Economics Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Professor Edward Nketiah-Amponsah from the Department of Economics the University of Ghana, Mr. James Avoka Asamani of the World Health Organization and Dr. Raymond Awuah Oppong and Dr. Jesse Kigozi from the University of Birmingham.

Professor Tony Amoah’s presentation focused on the relationship between the education of mothers and the survival of their children drawing linkages between education and infant mortality.

Reverend Sister Professor Eugenia Amporfu’s work focused on Equity in Healthcare focusing on national health care and highlighting the need for equality in health care delivery especially in the rural areas.

Mr. James Avoka Asamani presented on practical experiences of how models he developed during his Health Economics programme at the Birmingham University were adapted to solve health care challenges in Ghana and other countries.

Dr. Raymond Awuah Oppong also presented on the Health Economics programme and how to apply economic principles to health measures and together with Dr. Jesse Kigozi they showed hands on experiential demonstrations of models in Health Economics.