AMPATH GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP EXPANDS TO GHANA AND MEXICO
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Communicable diseases know no borders and the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes continues to increase around the globe. The importance of healthcare in our interconnected world has never been clearer.
Today, the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) announced new partnership sites in Tamale, Ghana, and Puebla, Mexico, to meet the global need for strong health systems. This work is supported by donations totaling more than US$10 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Eli Lilly and Company and the Lilly Foundation.
The AMPATH global network builds partnerships between universities and academic health centers to strengthen health systems and tackle health disparities in low- and middle-income countries, train future global health leaders and foster healthcare innovations to improve health worldwide.
"At the core of the AMPATH partnership model is the belief that long-term, sustainable global health partnerships are the key to improving health around the world," said Adrian Gardner, MD, MPH, executive director of the AMPATH Consortium of 14 academic health centers from around the world led by Indiana University. "Academic medical centers working with ministries of health are uniquely positioned to be accountable for the health of a community and to lead with care in a way that empowers training and research," he continued. AMPATH's 30-year partnership in Kenya created one of Africa's most successful HIV care and control programs and has evolved to support a comprehensive population health model including economic empowerment, a seamless care system and universal health insurance.
NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Ghana's University for Development Studies (UDS) and Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) lead the new partnership site in Tamale with more than US$6.7 million over three years in initial funding from The Helmsley Charitable Trust and US$600,000 from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation over four years.
The Puebla site in Mexico brings together Dell Medical School at The University of Texas Austin and Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) Faculty of Medicine as the leading academic health centers working with the Ministry of Health of the State of Puebla (Secretaria de Salud Estado de Puebla – SSEP) with more than US$2.8 million in funding from Lilly over four years.
"For more than three decades, AMPATH has provided an opportunity for both Kenyans and North Americans to improve care and deliver training and research opportunities that are mutually beneficial to all members of the partnership as well as the populations we serve," said Dr. Paul Ayuo, AMPATH Replication Ambassador from Moi University, Kenya. "We look forward with great anticipation to building those same benefits with our colleagues in Ghana and Mexico."
The Helmsley Charitable Trust's support of the partnership in Ghana began with earlier funding for planning purposes. "Helmsley is committed to building resilience that can lead to sustainable change across Africa, and this can only happen with stronger health systems," said Walter Panzirer, trustee at the Helmsley Charitable Trust. "AMPATH's approach and partnership framework will build on the strengths of Ghana's existing healthcare system and serve as a resource to Ghana's health and education leaders. Importantly, the knowledge developed through this collaboration has the potential to extend far beyond Ghana."
Ghana's UDS School of Medicine (SoM) trains more than 1,000 medical professionals with a focus on care for the poor. "We are committed to the health of our fellow citizens and education of the next generation of healthcare providers," said Professor Stephen Tabiri, MD, PhD, FGCS, FACS, FWACS, Med (Adm), dean of UDS-SoM.
"We look forward to working in partnership with our new AMPATH colleagues to advance these goals and create innovations that can be used around the world to improve health for others as well," said past dean of UDS-SoM, Professor Francis Abantanga, MD, PhD.
"People of northern Ghana will receive enhanced care and trainees using TTH as a training centre will have access to world-class training modules developed through this partnership," David Ahadzi, MPH, PMP, head of TTH's Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation Department said. "We are looking at improved health outcomes for all our clients."
Rajesh Vedanthan, MD, MPH, MS, director of the Section for Global Health at the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity and associate professor in the Department of Population Health leads NYU Grossman School of Medicine's involvement in AMPATH. "The goals of our new partnership in Ghana align with AMPATH's mission to strengthen public sector health systems by partnering in the delivery of health services; strengthen and develop sustainable human capacity for health care through training and education; advance research to improve population health; and promote global health equity," he said.
Earlier this year, the AMPATH Ghana partnership facilitated a donation of nearly US$5 million in personal protective equipment and COVID-19 test kits from the City of New York to TTH in Ghana.
"For twenty years, Lilly has partnered with AMPATH to help make lives better. Their work to strengthen healthcare systems in Kenya continues to be transformational," said Leigh Ann Pusey, senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Lilly. "Lilly's additional contributions to the AMPATH model exemplify our commitment to supporting this important work to bring health and hope to millions more people living with noncommunicable diseases in Ghana and Mexico."
The University of Texas prestigious President's Award for Global Learning, an initiative of Texas Global, supported a collaborative partnership with BUAP to conduct a comprehensive household-level assessment of health needs, determinants, and resources in four low-income communities in the area surrounding Atlixco, in the state of Puebla. Preliminary results reveal a high chronic disease burden and significant barriers to healthcare access in these communities. The assessment also provided a deeper understanding of community health perceptions and priorities and a survey of various socioeconomic determinants and needs.
BUAP is the public, state university of Puebla, and is located in the state capital, the city of Puebla, which is the fourth-largest city in Mexico, about two hours southeast of Mexico City. BUAP hosts more than 7,800 students educated by more than 380 faculty members. During the signing of the MOUs between the universities, Luis Vázquez de Lara Cisneros, MD, PhD, dean of BUAP Faculty of Medicine emphasized, "Both institutions, through this academic model and with the support of the Ministry of Health, will contribute to improving access to health in the most vulnerable population in our surrounding areas."
"Our hope is that the partnership between UT Austin and BUAP in Mexico will create the needed infrastructure and relationships to generate mutually beneficial outcomes in research, training and health services, as well as improve the health of individuals and communities in Mexico and Texas," said George Macones, MD, interim dean of Dell Med.
"Texas and Mexico have much in common. They share a border, history, culture, and people. They also share a similar disease burden, specifically diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease," said Tim Mercer, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Global Health in the Department of Population Health at Dell Med. AMPATH México has the potential to impact approximately three million people in the State of Puebla.
As the coordinating secretariat for the AMPATH partnerships, Indiana University Center for Global Health provides administrative and regulatory support service; promotes and facilitates the exchange of ideas; coordinates exchange of faculty members, residents, students, and other individuals among all of the participating institutions and takes a lead role in monitoring and evaluating AMPATH as a whole. The Lilly Foundation also contributed $520,000 to support the Center's role as the coordinating secretariat for AMPATH Global. A portion of The Helmsley Charitable Trust's contribution to AMPATH Ghana also supports the Center's secretariat work.
SOURCE AMPATH Global
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