Global Health Workforce Programme
In partnership with the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN), the Ghana College of Physicians of Surgeons (GCPS), the Aga Khan University in Kenya and The Association for Laboratory Medicine, the College has been awarded a grant under the Global Health Workforce programme (GHWP), funded by the Department of Health and Social Care UK. From February 2024 until January 2025 our project’s foremost purpose is to improve the quality of chemical pathology training and service provision in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.
The wider Global Health Workforce Programme involving numerous other health partnerships is directed by The Tropical Heath Education Trust (THET). The programme as a whole aims to develop the health workforce in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, supporting them to build stronger, more resilient health systems for post-pandemic recovery and to make progress towards universal health coverage. Our project most closely links with these 2 THET aims:
- to build the capacity of the workforce to serve in these countries, through improved retention and training opportunities
- to strengthen the performance of the health workforce in these countries through improved curriculum, policies and regulation.
Our project
In Ghana, there is a declining number of chemical pathologists trained to fellowship level and a dwindling number of trainees coming through the programme. In Kenya, while COPECSA has established a programme to train specialist pathologists to fellowship level, there is no training programme in place for chemical pathology.
The project aims to implement strategies and programmes that will tackle these gaps and to leverage strengths possessed across Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. It will provide new training opportunities in underserved areas and develop the capacity of local faculty/trainers to continue providing teaching, improving the performance of the health workforce.
The main activities of the project are to:
- review key chemical pathology curricula with a view to harmonising standards for chemical pathology fellowship training (last 2 years) in Kenya in collaboration with representatives from the National Postgraduate Medical College in Nigeria (NPMCN), and the Aga Khan University in Kenya
- provide mentoring of 2 chemical pathologists in Ghana by Nigerian chemical pathologists
- undertake 2 scoping visits – 1 to Ghana to make recommendations about what needs to be implemented to get the chemical pathologists to fellowship standard and another to Kenya to make recommendations about what is required to establish a chemical pathology fellowship programme
- pilot the delivery of a 12-week virtual certificate course for point-of-care testing for Kenyan chemical pathologists
- provide CPD-accredited quarterly virtual continued professional development (CPD) and continued medical education (CME) opportunities to support existing chemical pathologists and related healthcare professionals. This will be underpinned by monthly virtual case reports with colleagues in the UK, focusing on the management of metabolic clinics and monthly case report sessions.
- provide a CPD-accredited virtual day for already qualified chemical pathologists and related healthcare professionals focusing on recent advances in chemical pathology to boost their learning and development.
As we reach our goals over the course of the year, we will update this page to show our progress and achievements. Any recorded CPD sessions will also be made available to RCPath members in chemical pathology.