Dr Patrick Ansah is a Public Health Specialist in Epidemiology and Disease Control with the Ghana Health Service stationed at the Navrongo Health Research Centre.
He obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) at the University of Ghana Medical School, Korle Bu in the year 2002. After completing his internship at the Departments of Paediatrics and Surgery in the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Patrick was posted to the Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC) in April 2003 to assist in the paediatrics ward of the War Memorial Hospital where he served until 2015. He was also tasked to manage children under five years in the Kasena-Nankana District who were recruited into a malaria epidemiology study to investigate the factors influencing the development of severe malaria in children in Northern Ghana and a cohort study to determine the endpoints for measuring malaria vaccine efficacy in children. His efforts over this period contributed immensely to the significant reduction in under five mortality by over about two thirds in the catchment area of the Navrongo Health and Demographic Surveillance System.
He has worked at the centre both as a physician and a clinical trialist on studies including Efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of Rotateq vaccine in children, a trial of meningococcal A conjugate vaccine for incorporation into EPI schedule in meningitis prone areas of Sub Saharan Africa, a study of Artimist, a sublingual spray of artemether for treatment of severe malaria in children and a trial of Azithromycin and chloroquine in the treatment of mild malaria in children.
He has led in the evaluation of the feasibility of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention in Northern Ghana and is currently working on a longitudinal nasopharyngeal carriage of bacteria in children in Northern Ghana as part of studies to evaluate the effectiveness of the conjugate pneumococcal 13valent vaccine in Northern Ghana.
Patrick is currently the Co-Investigator of the Phase IV study (Post-marketing surveillance) of the RTSS malaria vaccine (EPIMAL group of studies) in Kassena Nankana Districts for the evaluation of safety and effectiveness of the novel malaria vaccine being piloted in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
Dr. Ansah holds a master of public health degree from the University of Ghana and a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Trials from the University of London. He is a member of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He was part of the first regional anti-retroviral therapy (ART) team trained to start clinical management of HIV patients in Upper East Region from 2006 to 2009 before being decentralised to districts for management. He has been the board chair for the War Memorial Hospital at Navrongo from 2017 till date.
Dr. Patrick Ansah is currently a member of the district rapid response team for covid-19 as a disease control specialist. He is a child health advocate in the Kassena-Nankana districts with a focus on malnutrition among children in the Kassena Nankana Districts and the chairman of the Ghana Medical Association for Upper East Region. He coordinates Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for medics in Upper East region ensuring quality of medical practice and continuous certification of Doctors in Upper East Region.
As a well seasoned Epidemiologist, Dr. Patrick Ansah heads the Clinical Science Department of NHRC which was established to ensure effective planning and efficiency in the utilization of resources of the centre in the conduct of clinical trials and other epidemiological studies, with the mandate to support investigators conducting clinical trials in the center to be fully compliant with the applicable regulatory requirements, local laws and to conduct such trails according to ICH-GCP. He is a member of the management team of NHRC.
His current interest is in training of young scientists in the field of clinical trials and developing and perfecting systems that support Good Clinical Practices in resource-constrained environments such as in Northern Ghana. With the current development of new tools especially vaccines and drugs which are being developed mainly for first time use in Sub Saharan Africa and for control of health problems more common in these parts of the world, he would be key in future studies of this institution.
Dr Patrick Odum Ansah was awarded by the World Health Organization in 2015 for his immense contribution to the development of Conjugate meningococcal A vaccine (MenAfriVac) for integration into the expanded programme of immunisation (EPI) in countries in the African Meningitis Belt.