Kintampo Health Research Centre

21/08/2025

Last week, researchers from Kintampo Health Research Centre joined other health experts, policymakers, and partners in Accra for the 2025 Health Research Dissemination Forum and Health Research Officers’ Conference. The events created a space for sharing research findings and discussing how health research can help Ghana achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

The forum, organized by the Research and Development Division, (RDD-GHS) of the Ghana Health Service, was held from August 12–14 under the theme “Research for Universal Health Coverage (UHC): Innovations and Sustainability.” UHC in Ghana aims to ensure that everyone—no matter their income, location, or social background—can access quality health services without financial hardship. Central to this goal is the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which was introduced to remove financial barriers to care, as well as community-based health planning and services (CHPS) that extend care to rural areas. The forum therefore highlighted how evidence from research can guide policies and innovations that strengthen health systems, expand equity in health delivery, and bring the country closer to achieving UHC.

Kintampo Health Research Centre made significant contributions with twelve researchers presenting studies including the PRISMA maternal, newborn, and child health, Maternal Immunization Readiness in Ghana, household air pollution in Techiman, neurodevelopmental assessments in child welfare services, HIV and NCD co-morbidities in the middle belt, and the use of artificial intelligence in malaria diagnostics. Other presentations included community surveillance study on intestinal parasitic infections among primary school pupils, the impact of iron fortification on childhood anaemia in rural Ghana, and barriers and facilitators of maternal vaccine uptake in Kintampo. Through these presentations, KHRC highlighted both biomedical innovations and community-based research that address pressing health challenges in Ghana.

Read more: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/rdd-2025.html

20/08/2025

Today, on , we reflect on this year’s theme “Accelerating the Fight Against Malaria for a More Equitable World.”

It’s a day we recognize the global impact mosquitoes have on public health. In fact, mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal on the planet, spreading deadly diseases such as malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, yellow fever, Zika, and chikungunya.

At Kintampo Health Research Centre, we are working daily to change this reality. Through our Entomology Unit, we monitor mosquito populations, study their species and biting behaviour, and test for insecticide resistance. This vital surveillance helps track malaria transmission patterns, guides vaccine and drug studies, and informs targeted interventions to protect vulnerable communities—especially pregnant women and children.

Every mosquito we study brings us closer to understanding how to defeat them. Together, we can accelerate progress toward a more equitable world where no life is lost to mosquito-borne diseases.



Visit our website: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/

08/08/2025

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭!!!

Vaccines save millions of lives every year, yet over one million children—mostly in low- and middle-income countries—still die from diseases that could have been prevented. A scoping review led by Mr. Eliezer Odei-Lartey, Head of Data Science at Kintampo Health Research Centre has explored how data has been used in Africa to identify children at risk of missing their vaccinations.

The review focused on how different types of information were selected, organized, and fed into computer models to identify children most likely to miss their vaccinations.

Their scoping review, published in PLOS Digital Health, analyzed over 4,000 articles, narrowing down to 18 studies that used machine learning models such as Random Forest, Support Vector Machines, Decision Trees, Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbours, and Artificial Neural Networks. These models analyzed factors such as socioeconomic status, which was often combined into a single wealth score, and categorical data simplified into yes-or-no values.

Building on these findings, the team applied real data from over 13,000 children in Ghana’s Malaria Vaccine Pilot Evaluation project. The follow-up study, published in Applied Sciences, revealed that well-organized and sufficiently large datasets significantly improve the accuracy of machine learning models in predicting vaccination defaulters.

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/harnessAiToProtectChildren.html

Read publication: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000965

07/08/2025

𝐊𝐇𝐑𝐂 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐆𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐌 𝟏𝟖𝟎+ 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡

The Kintampo Health Research Centre, in partnership with Columbia University and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with funding from Clean Air Fund Ghana, has installed Ghana’s first GRIMM 180+ reference air monitor in Kintampo. This marks a significant step toward improving air quality monitoring for environmental health research.

The GRIMM 180+ is a state-of-the-art, highly accurate air monitoring system that provides real-time data on different weather conditions such as temperature and humidity as well as tiny particulate matter especially PM10, PM2.5, and PM1—harmful pollutants that can enter the lungs and bloodstream, posing serious health risks.

This installation is part of the “Early Life Air Pollution Exposures and Non-Communicable Disease Risk in Ghana” study that monitors how air pollution affects the health of babies and young children in Ghana. The data will help show whether early exposure to polluted air increases the risk of long-term non-communicative diseases (NCD) such as asthma or heart problems, with the aim of supporting stronger air pollution control policies.

Special thanks to Prof. Darby Jack, Prof. Steven Chillrud of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, Dr. Alison Lee of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Clean Air Fund Ghana for making this achievement possible.

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/grimm-monitor.html

Learn more about the study: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/air-pollution-bono.html

31/07/2025

Last week, the NCD and Environmental Research Strengthening Training (NEST) Programme conducted a five-day short course on “Introduction to Epidemiology and Proposal Writing” to build the capacity of early-career researchers and public health professionals in Ghana.

The training, which took place in Accra from 21–25 July 2025, is part of a larger effort to strengthen national research capacity in tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and environmental health challenges.

Participants engaged in interactive and practical sessions that deepened their understanding of core epidemiological concepts and strengthened their proposal writing skills—essential for driving impactful research and shaping evidence-based policy. The course also provided hands-on training on securing research funding and emphasized the need to incorporate environmental considerations into NCD research.

Special thanks to Prof. Kwaku Poku Asante, Director of Kintampo Health Research Centre ; Prof. Alexander A. Manu, Senior Lecturer and Clinician at the University of Ghana, Legon-School of Public Health (UGSPH); Dr. Alison Lee, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Prof. Darby Jack, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University for their expert facilitation and mentorship throughout the training. The NEST Programme is funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH).

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/nest-short-course-training.html

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/Nest-training.html

30/07/2025

𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞-𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬

As part of efforts to strengthen capacity in climate and health data analysis, the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), through the Climate and Health Evaluation for Adaptive Resilience (CLEAR) Study, organized a three-day workshop for biostatisticians and researchers working across the CLEAR study sites in Ghana.

The training, which was held in Accra from 21–23 July 2025, was facilitated by Dr. Robbie M Parks, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Services at Columbia University and Prof. Cascade Tuholske, Associate Professor of Human Environment Geography at Montana State University and covered key technical areas including Bayesian statistics, environmental epidemiology, and heat stress metrics.

Participants included biostatisticians from Kintampo Health Research Centre, Dodowa Health Research Centre, Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC), and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), providing a unique opportunity to strengthen technical skills and promote collaboration across institutions implementing the study. CLEAR study is funded by Wellcome Trust.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/clear-biostat-training.html

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/Wellcome-trust-project.html

28/07/2025

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓!!!

𝐊𝐇𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐏𝐈 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬

A new study led by Mr. Eliezer Odei-Lartey, Head of Data Science at the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), has demonstrated that machine learning, can be used to detect children who are likely to miss-out on routine EPI vaccination.

Many children in sub-Saharan Africa miss their vaccines, making it difficult to reach full vaccination coverage and contributing to preventable illnesses and deaths, especially in communities with limited access to health services.

The study, published in the Applied Sciences journal in July 2025 under the title “Advancing Knowledge on Machine Learning Algorithms for Predicting Childhood Vaccination Defaulters in Ghana: A Comparative Performance Analysis,” focused on how data-driven approaches could be leveraged to predict which children are at risk of default, to help improve coverage.

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/ai-help-in-children-at-risk-defaulting-epi-vaccine.html

Read full article: https://doi.org/10.3390/app15158198

16/07/2025

Last week, the study team at Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC) participated in a four-day refresher training to improve their skills in brain imaging using the Hyperfine, Inc. low-field MRI system. The training focused on neuroimaging data acquisition, processing, and updated quality control procedures.

The sessions were led by experts from the University of Cape Town, including Jessica Ringshaw (Senior Training Lead), Williams (Data Manager), and Petter Clemensson (UNITY Site Biomedical Engineer). They guided the team through practical sessions and shared updated protocols to ensure high-quality data collection in low-field MRI use.

The ReMIND study is investigating how anaemia during pregnancy may affect the brain development of babies in their first year of life. It forms part of the UNITY Network, which uses portable low-field MRI scanners to study brain development in young children across 17 sites in 12 low- and middle-income countries. The study is funded by Gates Foundation.

This refresher training is part of ongoing professional development efforts to ensure consistency, accuracy, and ethical standards across all UNITY Network sites and to support the successful implementation of the ReMIND study in Ghana.

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/remind-refresher-training.html

Learn more about ReMIND: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/Remind-study.html

15/07/2025

𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓!!!

New evidence from a large Phase 4 study that monitored the safety of the RTS,S/ASO1E malaria vaccine given through routine healthcare systems shows that the vaccine is safe for young children, even after one year of receiving the third dose.

Published in The Lancet Global Health, the study titled “Safety of RTS,S/AS01E Malaria Vaccine Up To 1 Year After the Third Dose in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi (EPI-MAL-003)", monitored 44,912 children through routine health systems. The study found no evidence linking the vaccine to serious safety concerns such as meningitis, febrile convulsions and cerebral malaria that had been raised in earlier phase 3 RTSS vaccine trial.

The 'EPI-MAL-003' study was part of the World Health Organization’s Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP). It was designed to evaluate the safety, impact, and effectiveness of the RTS,S/AS01E vaccine in real-life settings. It was also aimed at checking for serious side effects and cases of confirmed meningitis in children who received the vaccine.

The study monitored both vaccinated and unvaccinated children in participating communities. It was funded by GSK and implemented by the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), the Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC), both in Ghana, the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Research Programme

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/rtsa-vaccine-safe-for-children.html

Read full publication: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00096-8/fulltext

03/07/2025

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐬!

The 2025 Health Research Dissemination Forum is scheduled for 12th-14th August at the Health Promotion Division Conference Room, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Register now: https://bit.ly/43Ze3x9

Join researchers, policy makers, and health professionals as we share research findings and shape the future of health in Ghana.

Get ready for the 2025 Health Research Dissemination Forum.
A national platform spotlighting the ideas and innovations shaping the future of Universal Health Coverage.

Theme: Research for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Innovations and Sustainability.

Date: 12th – 14th August 2025.

Register now: https://bit.ly/43Ze3x9

Health Research Dissemination Forum, advancing health through research.

27/06/2025

Johannesburg, 26 June – In a joint appeal published in The Lancet, 44 leading scientific and social organisations from across the globe are calling on Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to take urgent action to save millions of young lives by protecting them against RSV.

25/06/2025

The Maternal Immunisation Readiness Network in Africa and Asia (MIRNA) team in Ghana are currently conducting a 5-day Comprehensive Systematic Review Training and Data Synthesis/Analysis workshop for its study team at Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), who are implementing the burden of diseases work package. The training aims to strengthen their skills to effectively undertake its study activities.

The training, which began on Monday, 23rd June 2025, and is expected to end on Friday, 27th June, is being led by Prof. Yeetey Enuameh, Associate Professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), a certified JBI trainer and a lead investigator for the MIRNA study’s Burden of Diseases Work Package.

Research staff from various projects/departments at KHRC and key staff of the Kintampo North Municipal Health Directorate, including its Director, are participating in the training. The training is held at Kintampo Health Research Centre, which is a in Ghana.

Director of KHRC, Prof. Kwaku Poku Asante, in his address, emphasized the importance of conducting high-quality research that meets the standards for inclusion in systematic reviews. He noted that exclusion from such reviews could raise doubts about a study’s validity, urging participants to always produce work that can withstand critical appraisal.

The training is giving participants hands-on experience with the JBI SUMARI platform, which is an advanced tool for conducting systematic reviews. From learning how to frame review questions using and , to appraising research, extracting and synthesizing data, staff are being equipped to produce high-quality evidence that informs health decisions and policy.

Read full story: https://www.kintampo-hrc.org/pages/mirna-training-for-study-team.html