239 - Building on Legacy: Growing the Ghana-CHOP Partnership to Advance Child Health while Learning from Each Other

Publication Number: 1226.239

Selasie Goka, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Jacqueline O. Owusu-McKenzie, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Villanova, PA, United States; Christabel Enweronu-Laryea, University of Ghana, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Adwoa K.A. Afrane, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Sampson Antwi, Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Faculty of Pediatrics/Child Health, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana; Adelaide Barnes, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Gladys Naa Lomole Lomotey, University of Ghana Medical School, Department of Child Health, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Kwabena A. Osman, Medical College of Wisconsin, Wauwatosa, WI, United States; Mazvita Rankin, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3974, PA, United States; Catherine Segbefia, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Andrew P. Steenhoff, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia & UPenn, Bala Cynwyd, PA, United States; Lily Gloria Tagoe, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana; Bamenla Q. Goka, University of Ghana Medical School, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana

Background: For over 20 years, Professor Kwaku Ohene-Frempong collaborated with colleagues in Ghana and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to establish newborn screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) and improve the care of patients with SCD in Ghana. To build on this legacy, a formal Ghana-CHOP Global Health (GH) Partnership was created.

Objective: To develop and maintain a mutually beneficial GH partnership in the areas of education, research, clinical care, and advocacy, which reflects priority pediatric needs in Ghana while leveraging both Ghana and CHOP's strengths and training future pediatric GH leaders in both settings.

Design/Methods: Key stakeholders include the Department of Child Health, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (DCH-KBTH), the Faculty of Pediatrics and Child Health of Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), and the CHOP GH Center. Initial progress was through virtual discussions, followed by scouting site visits to Ghana by CHOP leaders and reciprocal visits to CHOP by Ghanaian leaders. The partnership is maintained through ongoing virtual meetings and site visits to sustain relationships.

Results: Since January 2023, 13 Ghanaian pediatric senior residents and junior faculty have completed one-to-two-month observerships at CHOP, 1 CHOP trainee has completed a rotation at DCH-KBTH, and approximately 14 Ghanaian pediatricians have attended one-week Open Medical Institute (OMI) Pediatric Courses facilitated by CHOP faculty. Co-investigators from Ghana and CHOP are collaborating on 8 different grant funded projects in various stages of progress with 4 in manuscript development. Other projects that have grown out of this partnership include a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) course co-taught at the 2025 Pediatric Society of Ghana's annual meeting by pediatricians from Ghana and CHOP, and a more longitudinal POCUS program in implementation at DCH-KBTH. Funding has come through the CHOP Melissa Ketunuti Memorial Global Health Endowment, the GCPS, grants (both internal and foundation), and the OMI.

Conclusion(s): Implementing and sustaining a mutually beneficial, bidirectional global health partnership requires regular, candid communication, in which all participants have a say in setting partnership priorities and determining strategies to achieve them. In addition to continuing current educational and research priorities, the partnership will ramp up efforts to support improvements in pediatric critical care and emergency medicine in Ghana.