Event Overview
The Ghana Health Service hosts the Senior Nursing & Midwifery Managers Conference 2025 to strengthen leadership, innovation, and healthcare delivery in Ghana.
About This Event
Event Agenda
Speakers & Guests
Prof. Fred Binka
Professor Fred Newton Binka is a distinguished epidemiologist and public health expert with over three decades of experience in health research and policy. He has served as a WHO consultant and has published extensively on malaria prevention, maternal health, and health systems strengthening across Africa
Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea
Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea is a distinguished neurosurgeon, public health physician, and health systems leader with over 26 years of medical experience. He has served as Director of the Institutional Care Division and Deputy Director of the National Ambulance Service within the Ghana Health Service. A pioneer in neurosurgery in Ghana and West Africa, he co-founded the Ghana Academy of Neurological Surgeons and coordinates neurosurgery training nationally. Dr. Kaba has played vital roles in emergency preparedness and response for major outbreaks including Ebola and COVID-19. Currently, he serves as Acting Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, driving healthcare delivery and reform in Ghana. He holds an MD, a PhD in Public Health, and is a Fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Prof. Lydia Aziator
Professor Lydia Aziato, popularly known in the nursing and midwifery fraternity as ‘Prof. 1’ is the first nurse to be appointed a PROFESSOR in Ghana and the first nurse to be appointed a Vice-Chancellor (VC) in Ghana and West Africa and second nurse VC in the whole of Africa. She is really a trailblazer and an inspiration to many. Her appointment as a VC of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has added the University to the list of those with female VCs – the 5th in Ghana. She attended Ghana Senior High School in Koforidua from 1985 to 1992 and graduated as a professional nurse in 1997 from the Korle-Bu Nursing and Midwifery Training College. She obtained her first degree in Nursing and Psychology in 2001 and a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Nursing in 2005, both from the University of Ghana. She graduated with the highest cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of her class in 2001 and won a scholarship from Unilever Ghana Ltd for her MPhil programme. She also pursued her speciality training in Oncology Nursing from the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, Canada and completed it in 2006. Subsequently, she graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing from the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, in 2013, where she developed a clinical guideline for post-operative pain management applicable to a resource-limited clinical environment. Prof. Aziato worked as a Staff nurse at the Mamprobi Polyclinic before she joined the University of Ghana in 2001 after her first degree. She rose through the ranks from a Senior Nurse Technician (2001-2006), Assistant Lecturer (2006-2008), Lecturer (2008-2014), Senior Lecturer (2014-2017), Associate Professor (2017-2020) and Professor (2020). Prof. Lydia Aziato has taught in several nursing and midwifery training institutions including 37 Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Pantang Nursing Training College, Central University, Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM), and at the University of Ghana School of Nursing and Midwifery, Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) and the University of Ghana Pan African Doctoral Academy (PADA). She has taught many courses that span across diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, specialist, and doctoral levels. She has also delivered several short courses and facilitated many workshops. Prof. Aziato’s research work has a heavy orientation in qualitative approaches. Her research explores breast cancer, pain, surgical nursing care, women’s health, herbal medicine, and spirituality. She has over 100 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters. She has been the lead or co-investigator for numerous local and international projects funded by grants from IDRC, USAID, WHO, the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the Global Health Fund, the National Research Fund of South Africa, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana, and the Ghana AIDS Commission. She is married with three children.
Prof. Jerry Paul Ninnoni
Professor Jerry Paul Ninnoni is an Associate Professor of Mental Health and Psychiatry and the current Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana.He trained in Scotland, earning a BSc in Mental Health Nursing, a Postgraduate Certificate in Research Methods, an MBA, and a PhD in Health Services Research at the Robert Gordon University, where his doctoral work focused on communication in epilepsy and learning disabilities. He also holds an M.Ed. in Teaching in Higher Education from UCC. Prof. Ninnoni is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Councils of the UK and Ghana, offering students both national and international perspectives on mental health service delivery. He has led several international collaborations, including with Grand Valley State University (USA) and the University of Limerick (Ireland). A prolific researcher, he has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, widely cited in high-impact journals. His research interests include mental health, depression, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, stigma, and learning disabilities. He is also a committed educator, known for his constructivist and blended teaching approaches. After working in Scotland for two decades, he taught and practised extensively in the UK. He returned to Ghana in 2014 to advance mental health education, spearheading the establishment of the country's first BSc in Mental Health Nursing, with its maiden graduates in 2016. In 2023, he became the first Professor of Mental Health Nursing resident in Ghana. He has served as Coordinator and Head of Department of Mental Health, and now as Dean, as well as a Board Member of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH). Prof. Ninnoni is recognised as a trailblazer in mental health nursing education in Ghana, shaping policy, practice, and academic excellence in the field.
Mrs. Eva Mensah
Mrs. Eva Mensah is an accomplished nurse leader and health systems administrator with over two decades of experience spanning clinical care, education, and policy. A graduate of the University of Ghana, she holds a BA in Nursing with Psychology, MPhil in Nursing, and certificates in Health Administration and Management, Healthcare Leadership and Governance, and Global Health Security (IVLP, U.S. Department of State). She is a Fellow of both the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives and the West African Postgraduate College of Nursing and Midwifery. Mrs. Mensah has served in leadership roles at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Ministry of Health, and currently as Director of Nursing and Midwifery at the Ghana Health Service. She has led national quality and leadership initiatives in collaboration with USAID and New York University and has published widely on nursing leadership and systems strengthening.
Dr. (med) Mrs. Alberta Adjebeng Biritwum-Nyarko
Dr. (Mrs.) Alberta Adjebeng Biritwum-Nyarko is a distinguished public health physician, Specialist, and transformative leader with over two decades of experience strengthening Ghana’s health system and advancing evidence-based public health leadership. She is recognised for strategic leadership, policy innovation, and datadriven governance that have advanced accountability and improved service delivery across 16 regions, 261 districts, and over 10,000 health facilities nationwide. As former Director for Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division at the Ghana Health Service Headquarters, she led the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Roadmap Implementation as well as the institutionalisation of the Networks of Practice (NoPs) approach for Primary Health Care improvement. She also championed digital transformation to enhance data quality and policy responsiveness as well as data protection efforts in the Service. Previously, as Regional Director of Health Service (Eastern Region), she led Ghana’s COVID-19 response and strengthened surveillance, case management and logistics management systems. Earlier, as Metropolitan Director of Health Service (Kumasi), she expanded primary healthcare access, deepened collaboration and communication with the private health sector, effectively led emergency preparedness and response both in outbreaks and large public gatherings such as seen in multiple-day traditional (royal) funerals in the Ashanti Kingdom and worked towards improved maternal and child health outcomes. Renowned for innovation, crisis leadership, and mentorship, Dr. Biritwum-Nyarko continues to drive Ghana’s progress toward Universal Health Coverage and resilient, people-centred health systems.