The core vision of the Pan African DrPH consortium is to develop and implement a shared uniquely African health system targeted professional doctoral program is to support the development of transformational and strategic level Public Health leadership in sub-Saharan Africa for strong and resilient health systems.
The Pan African DrPH consortium started as a consortium of 4 Schools of Public Health in Africa (University of Ghana, Makerere University, University of the Western Cape; University of Cape Town) and 1 in the USA (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill SPH) in July 2013 with support from the Rockefeller Foundation Transforming Health Systems (THS) initiative. The Consortium expanded to include the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons Public Health Faculty and the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus in 2016. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a partner in 2015 since the consortium PI for the University of Cape Town (UCT) holds a joint appointment in UCT and LSHTM. Similarly Indiana University Perdue University (IUPU) is a partner since 2015 since the consortium PI for UNC-CH moved to IUPU and now holds a joint appointment in both universities.
Achievements:
The consortium has spent the last three years working together on the development of a shared program outline, curricula and detailed course content for the establishment of the Pan African Professional Doctoral Program (DrPH). It has also been working on obtaining institutional accreditation in the each of the African partner universities for the Pan African DrPH. To inform the development of the program, the partners conducted a multi-country assessment of Public Health Strategic Leadership development needs in Ghana, Uganda and South Africa in the first and second year of the program. Subsequently, three face to face consortium partner working meetings have been held to work on program concept, courses and modules development. A completed program concept is now available. Accreditation to run a new program is a lengthy process in all the participating African partner institutions. In the University of Ghana, the program proposal has been reviewed and approved by the School of Public Health Education committee and the faculty board. It is pending review within the College of Health Sciences and onwards to the graduate school board and the academic quality board before final accreditation. Accreditation is similarly still pending in all the partner institutions.