Collaboration between G-WAC and HRH-SEMCA

In the frame of the collaboration between G-WAC and HRH-SEMCA, Professor Romain Glèlè Kakaï, was a facilitator during a Modeling for Pandemic Preparedness and response short course at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi – Ghana.

The School of Public Health at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi – Ghana, has offered from 23^rd to 27^th September 2024 a Modeling course for Pandemic Preparedness and response (MPPR)– as part of the initiative to develop specialised skills in disease modelling. The course is designed and implemented by G-WAC (German West African Centre for Global Health and Pandemic Prevention) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). G-WAC is a cooperation between KNUST, Technische Universität Berlin, Charité Berlin, Berlin School of Public Health, and University Hospital Bonn. The Centre is funded by the German Foreign Office via DAAD (German Academic Exchange Agency).

This course was a collaborative effort by facilitators, including Andrzej Jarynowski (Freie Universität Berlin), Gesine Meyer-Rath (Boston University/WITS), Glele Romain (Uni. of Abomey-Calavi), Dr. Jean Claude Dejon Agobé (CERMEL, Gabon), Vincent Donkoh (NIMS, KNUST), Daniel Opoku (GWAC/KNUST), James Azam and Daniel Boateng (KNUST).

Days 1-2 covered R programming, and Days 3-5 focused on hands-on disease modelling, including an excursion into malaria modelling, with short lectures on health economics, network modelling, and science communication. Participants also learned reproducible research using Quarto.

The participants worked in groups of 4 to reproduce a published COVID-19 model for West Africa and a novel mpox model, supported by facilitators through brainstorming and implementation.