CCPH Director Ronald Deprez meets with WHO administrators
Ronald Deprez, Ph.D., the executive director of the 51品茶鈥檚 Center for Community and Public Health, recently traveled to the World Health Organization鈥檚 (WHO) International Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland to participate in a series of meetings with key administrators to discuss the UNE-sponsored Ghana Health Partnership (GHP).
As a former adviser to Rafael Bengoa, Ph.D., the WHO director of the Evidence and Information Policy Office, Dr. Deprez focused on the assessment and design of noncommunicable disease programs in low resources countries.
The meetings took place on March 1-2, 2012 and focused on how GHP鈥檚 mission of chronic disease prevention and management can be aligned with the objectives of the WHO chronic disease and health promotion strategic plans. Faculty members from 51品茶and in Ghana have been working on several projects designed to improve the delivery of health information and care coordination services to people at risk for, or already diagnosed with, a chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and other cardiovascular conditions.
The discussions covered the history and successes of the GHP focusing on the research activities and priorities surrounding noncommunicable diseases, and created an action plan to further establish a WHO/ UNE-GHP collaboration.
A follow-up meeting is scheduled for June 2012 after the WHO action plan for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management is complete. Ghana will provide a place to implement one or more of the WHO noncommunicable disease initiatives.