Prof. Richard Adanu, Dean of the School of Public Health, has delivered the first inaugural Lecture for the 2014/2015 academic year. The Lecture which was on the topic, “Her Right Not A Favour: The Future Of Women’s Health In Ghana”, was chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey.
Prof. Adanu noted that women’s health has been understood over the years as only concerned with women’s reproduction but should be viewed as a combination of clinical and social issues that women face as a reason of their biological make up and the cultures that they find themselves in. He added that women’s health issues are influenced by the medical, social and legal systems into which women are placed and more importantly, also concerns the ease with which women are able to access health systems.
Prof. Adanu focused on an on-going women’s health study in Accra, a project being funded by the University of Ghana, Southampton University, the Harvard School of Public Health, San Diego State University, and stressed on the need to pay more attention to the increase of lifestyle diseases of women while not neglecting infectious diseases. He reencountered the cumbersome procedure women go through in screening for cervical cancer and called for an efficient national screening programme on Cervical Cancer to effectively detect the disease at an early stage to protect women from dying from such a preventable disease.
On the issue of maternal health, Prof. Adanu called for an improvement in pregnancy and delivery services, adding that analysis of data he has conducted with some colleagues prove that across Africa, as the proportion of women who deliver in health facilities increase there are fewer deaths of pregnant women and new-born babies. He hinted that while it is true that Ghana would not achieve the Millennium Development Goal number 5 of reducing maternal deaths by 75% , over the years they country has managed to reduce maternal deaths by 50% between 1999 and 2013. He therefore called for appropriate interventions in the area of maternal mortality to ensure that equal successes are recorded across all regions of the country. He also highlighted on the family planning issues as well as unsafe abortions which affect women’s health issues.
On the future of women’s health in Ghana, Prof. Adanu emphasised the need for researchers to work together with practitioners to share their research findings and expertise. He further called on corporate organisations to add women’s health issues to their social responsibility programmes. He emphasised on the fact that women’s health issues should concern all people, whether male or female as women perform critical roles in the society.
Prof. Adanu so impressed the audience that he received a standing ovation at the end of his lecture.
Registrar, Mrs. Mercy Haizel-Ashia
Earlier in introductory remarks, the Registrar of the University of Ghana, Mrs. Mercy Haizel- Ashia, welcomed all gathered to the Lecture. She explained that the delivery of inaugural lectures is a tradition in the University as well as a sign and testament of the strength of the academic units in the University.
Prof. Ernest Aryeetey
Prof. Ernest Aryeetey congratulated Prof. Adanu for a well delivered lecture which contained a fair presentation of the research work he has carried out on women’s health issues. He highlighted some lessons from the lecture, which included the fact that that woman should be encouraged to seek medical help on time. He added that this is critical though some of these women have strong socio-economic reasons why they often do not report early as they strive to take care of the home.
He urged faculty members and researchers from the School of Public Health and College of Health Sciences to move from the assessment of health status to setting up surveillance systems.
Presentations were made to Prof. Adanu from his wife and children, the School of Public Health and Evidence for Action, an NGO to which Prof. Adanu is associated with.
The lecture was attended by Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Prof. John Gyapong and Prof. Kwame Offei, as well as colleagues of Prof. Adanu from the School of Public Health and the College of Health Sciences. It was also attended by friends, associates, faculty members, students, staff and members of the public.
Please click here to the Abstract
Please click here for Prof. Adanu’s Profile
Guests seated at the Lecture
Prof. Adanu in a pose with his wife and daughters after they made a presentation to him
Representatives from the School of Public Health in a pose with Prof. Adanu after making bouquet presentations to him 
Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, making a presentation on behalf of Evidence for Action
Members of the Academic procession
