PROFILE OF THE PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR
Professor Harry Kwami Tagbor assumed the position of Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) on 1 August 2021. On account of the mission and vision of UHAS, he envisions positioning UHAS to lead the advancement of human health through nurturing and promotion of its core values of excellence, integrity, innovation, and service and care. In collaboration with all stakeholders, he is committed to enhancing academic standards and the quality of teaching and learning in UHAS. This will produce a health workforce that is capable and committed, compassionate, knowledgeable and able to apply the knowledge in service delivery; a workforce that has acquired leadership, management, advocacy, and communication skills and is committed to lifelong learning.
Education and Professional Background
Prof. Tagbor studied at Keta Secondary School and Bishop Herman College, Kpando for his O’ and A’ level certificates respectively. He graduated from the School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1993 as a medical doctor and began his medical career in the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital in Asante Akyem North district of the Ashanti region. He later accepted reposting to Nkoranza district, Brong Ahafo, where he worked at St. Theresa’s Hospital from 1995 to 2006. He dedicated himself fully to providing quality health service to all Ghanaians living in that district and beyond. The Catholic Diocese of Sunyani, in recognition of his dedicated service, adjudged him the Best Diocesan Doctor in 1999. He also received a citation from the chiefs and district assembly on behalf of the people of Nkoranza in recognition of meritorious service in 2004. During this period while working as a full-time clinician in the hospital, he also doubled as the District Director of Health Services. He obtained a Doctorate in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK in 2005 through the Gates Malaria Partnership funded by the Gates Foundation.
Academic Career
His academic career began when he joined the School of Medical Science, KNUST, as a lecturer in October 2006 and served KNUST in many ways at various points in time. He was Head of Department of Community Health of the School of Medical Sciences from 2012 to 2014 and Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the School of Public Health from 2014 to 2016. While at KNUST, he was appointed a clinical lecturer by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to coordinate a large clinical trial in West Africa. He is currently a Professor of Public Health.
Apart from teaching and research, he took keen interest in mentoring faculty members to enable them perform optimally and was involved in efforts to strengthen capacity for postgraduate training in the University. He has been involved in several activities to strengthen capacity for graduate training at KNUST and now at UHAS. He was responsible for the development and running of PhD courses, supervisor training for academic faculty, and establishment of a mentorship program for postdoctoral fellows in the College of Health Sciences at KNUST with funding from the Wellcome Trust and later from the DANIDA – Building Stronger Universities Initiative. Currently with another funding through the DELTAS Initiative, he has initiated similar activities in UHAS.
Research and Memberships
His research work is focused on the epidemiology and control of malaria in children and pregnant women; epidemiology and control of neglected tropical diseases, evaluation of disease control interventions and investigation of implementation strategies for effective health delivery. He has made significant scientific contributions to health policy and practice through his research.
He has extensive experience in running multi-country research consortia and is currently a member of many international research consortia. He is a member of the Ghana Medical Association and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Ghana.
