New institute to strengthen global health training launched in Accra
Ghana’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for medical education received a major boost yesterday with the launch of the CarePoint Institute for International Training (CIIT) in Accra.
The new institute aims to reshape global health education by placing African institutions at the centre of training, research and knowledge production, while challenging the long-standing model in which African health facilities mainly serve as training grounds for foreign students, with curricula and standards largely set elsewhere.
Launching the institute, the Chief Executive Officer of CarePoint, Dr Sangu Delle, said CIIT marked a deliberate shift from the traditional system dominated by institutions from high-income countries.
• Dr Sangu Delle (second from right) with the Paramount Chief of Nandom, Naa Prof. Edmond Delle Chiir VIII (third from left) and other officials at the event
He explained that the institute sought to reverse the existing model by welcoming trainees into systems designed and led by host institutions themselves.
Dr Delle said the model would strengthen supervision, bring clarity to training structures and deepen collaboration between visiting trainees and local health workers.
He noted that the initiative responded to global projections of an 11 million health worker shortage by 2030, stressing that Africa had the human resource capacity to help close the gap.
He added that CIIT builds on CarePoint’s experience with the Rabito Clinic network and would be developed into a structured international training system, with a target of training 1,000 health professionals by 2030.
The Chief Medical Officer of CarePoint, Eliza Monroe Wise, said CIIT was created to address gaps in supervision, structure and ethics that often characterise international medical training programmes.
She recounted an experience from her early medical career in Kenya, where a visiting American surgical trainee had to perform an emergency amputation on a patient injured in a hippopotamus attack with limited supervision.
Dr Wise said the doctor later questioned whether he had made the right decisions, noting that the experience underscored the need to build systems that properly support trainees, protect patients and strengthen the institutions where care is delivered.
She indicated that Ghana was selected as the launch site because of its stability, safety and growing health infrastructure.
She added that CarePoint’s facilities, including the Rabito Clinic network, provide diverse clinical environments suitable for immersive training.
Dr Wise said Ghana offers a range of clinical environments, from urban centres to rural settings, making it ideal for immersive learning experiences.
To ensure global standards, she said CIIT is partnering institutions such as Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham, while also working with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service on accreditation and regulation.
The Chairperson of the launch, Jonathan Addy, described the initiative as timely, saying it aligns with the future of global health education.
He said the vision was to create a platform that combines international exposure with meaningful integration into local health systems.
Caption: Officials and guests pose for a group photograph at the launch of the CarePoint Institute for International Training in Accra
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
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