Head of Department’s Welcome Message
On behalf of our esteemed faculty and dedicated staff, I extend a warm welcome to you - our prospective students, partners, and visitors - to the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health (PFRH) and to our official
website. As one of the foundational pillars of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, our department plays a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of public health professionals.
At the heart of our work lies a deep commitment to advancing knowledge and practice in maternal and child health, reproductive health, population studies, adolescent and family health, nutrition, and bioethics. Our department boasts several historic firsts - a testament to our pioneering spirit and leadership in public health education and research. We are the first Department of PFRH within the first School of Public Health (SPH) in Ghana, housed in the first university in Ghana - the University of Ghana. Furthermore, our department is home to Ghana’s first-ever MSc program in Bioethics, an innovative initiative designed to equip professionals with the critical ethical reasoning skills necessary to navigate complex public health and medical dilemmas.
Over the years, we have earned a distinguished reputation for producing highly sought-after graduates who seamlessly integrate into district, regional, and national health systems, where they drive innovation and transformative change.
Beyond our academic programs, our department serves as a hub for groundbreaking global health collaborations. We proudly host the World Health Organization (WHO)/Human Reproduction Alliance Hub for Anglophone Africa, reinforcing our leadership in reproductive health research and advocacy. Additionally, we spearhead the HIV Comorbidity Research Collaboration between the University of Ghana School of Public Health and Yale University School of Medicine, further cementing our commitment to cutting-edge research. Furthermore, we serve as the African partner for the online MSc in Reproductive Health Policies and Programs in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, ensuring that our students gain global perspectives on public health challenges.
At the core of our success is our distinguished faculty - a team of 12 highly experienced, globally engaged, and research-driven scholars whose expertise breathes life into our academic programs. Their research spans critical areas such as maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, food environments, food systems, and their nexus with diet-related disease. Through these, we ensure that our students are immersed in knowledge that is both theoretically rich and practically relevant.
Currently, our department is home to over 70 students across our PhD and MPH (Regular/Weekend) programs, MSc (Bioethics), each embarking on an intellectually stimulating and professionally enriching journey. We encourage our students to embrace interdisciplinary learning, selecting courses from other departments within the School of Public Health to broaden their perspectives and refine their expertise. Our faculty remains deeply invested in student success, integrating real-world experiences into classroom discussions to ensure that our graduates are equipped to confront the complexities of public health practice with confidence and competence.
We welcome you to our department with the firm conviction that your time with us will be academically rigorous, intellectually stimulating, and professionally transformative. Whether you are a student, researcher, or practitioner, we invite you to join us in advancing knowledge, shaping policy, and improving health outcomes for populations, families, and communities.
Welcome to a legacy of excellence.
Welcome to the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health.
— Professor Amos Laar, Head of Department.
Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health
University of Ghana, School of Public Health