Ensign Global University has challenged its latest batch of public health graduates to deploy their professional expertise to tackle pressing health challenges and help transform healthcare delivery across Africa and beyond.
The challenge was issued at the university’s 11th congregation at Kpong in the Eastern Region, where 65 students graduated with Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees, marking another milestone in the institution’s growing contribution to advanced public health education.
The MPH programme is jointly accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), a United States-based accrediting body responsible for assessing public health education programmes against internationally recognised standards.
The accreditation, which Ensign attained in 2024, made it the first university in Africa to receive CEPH accreditation, placing the institution within an internationally recognised framework for public health education and professional training.
Delivering the keynote address, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and Chief Executive Officer of University of Utah Health, Dr Bob S. Carter, said the accreditation represented a significant achievement and affirmed the quality of training the graduates had received.
He noted that the recognition placed Ensign among institutions whose public health programmes are benchmarked against rigorous international standards, including those of leading American universities such as Johns Hopkins.
“In 2024, Ensign Global University became the first institution in Africa to earn accreditation from the council on education for Public health, the same US body that accredits the schools in John Hopkins University.”
He added that “The degree you are receiving today represents a high level of preparation, and now it’s up to you to bring that same commitment to the communities that you serve,” he told the graduates.
Drawing on his experience as a neurosurgeon and epidemiologist, Dr Carter said the future of public health depended on professionals who could identify the needs of underserved populations and develop practical interventions to address them.
He challenged the graduates to look beyond patients who visit hospitals and clinics to consider those who never make it through the doors of health facilities because of barriers to accessing healthcare.
“Public health challenges us to think about the people who may never make it to our clinic door and how we can better support those individuals,” he said.
Dr Carter also emphasised leadership, professionalism and entrepreneurialism as essential qualities for building responsive healthcare systems.
He urged the graduates to uphold the highest professional standards, demonstrate empathy in their work and remain committed to improving the lives of the people they serve.
“Patients lead us into some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. They share fears with us that they may not have shared with others, and they trust us with their future,” he said.
On innovation, he encouraged them to identify gaps in healthcare delivery and develop solutions that reflect the realities and resources of their communities rather than simply importing interventions designed elsewhere.
“An idea that is developed somewhere else still has to work right here in our community, in your community, with the people and resources that you have,” he added.
President of Ensign Global University, Prof. Stephen C. Alder, said the institution’s vision extended beyond awarding academic qualifications to developing entrepreneurial leaders capable of generating knowledge and responding to some of the world’s most complex challenges.
He explained that the university was established to produce professionals with exceptional competence, build mutually beneficial partnerships and contribute to the sustainable prosperity of communities and countries.
“The mission of Ensign Global University is to educate entrepreneurial leaders who exhibit the highest levels of competency and professionalism to create and share knowledge that can be deployed to respond to the world’s great challenges,” he said.
Prof. Alder said the university’s identity was anchored in three institutional pillars: leadership, professionalism and innovation, represented by the gold elements in its logo.
He urged the graduates, known as Ensonians, to embody these values, become agents of positive change and use their education to improve lives wherever their professional and personal journeys take them.
The Special Guest of Honour, President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs and Konor of Manya Krobo, Nene Sakitey II, also commended the university for its contribution to the development of communities within the traditional area.
However, he drew attention to the growing environmental and public health challenges confronting parts of the Eastern Region, particularly the impact of illegal mining on water bodies and access to safe drinking water.
He expressed concern that some communities continued to depend on contaminated water sources for domestic use, describing the situation as a serious threat to public health.
Nene Sakitey II called on the graduating professionals to take a more active role in public education, disease prevention and advocacy, particularly in communities bearing the greatest burden of environmental degradation.
He observed that the greatest achievements in public health were often invisible because they involved preventing diseases and emergencies before they occurred.
“When an engineer builds a bridge, everyone can see it. When an architect designs a skyscraper, you can see it. But when the public health professional does their job right, when an outbreak is contained before it spills over, when clean water policies pass before a community gets sick, the reward is an absence,” he said.
He urged the graduates not to measure their impact by public recognition but by the lives protected and communities transformed through their interventions.
“Do not wait for a crisis to care, and do not wait for applause to know you matter. Walk boldly out there, find the broken links in the chain of human well-being and go fix them,” he charged.
Renowned pathologist and Ensign board member, Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa, reinforced the call, challenging public health professionals to sustain advocacy against illegal mining and its devastating consequences for human health.
He said the growing threat posed by environmental pollution required stronger engagement from health professionals, particularly in educating communities about the dangers of consuming contaminated water and the long-term consequences of environmental degradation.
The 11th congregation brought together university officials, academics, traditional authorities, faculty members from Ensign and the University of Utah, as well as families and friends of the graduating students.
The graduation further highlighted Ensign Global University’s commitment to developing highly skilled public health professionals through internationally accredited training, academic partnerships and an institutional focus on leadership, innovation and professional excellence.
With the 65 graduates joining its growing alumni community, the university is positioning its training to contribute to the development of public health systems and the advancement of health outcomes across Ghana, Africa and the wider world.
Blessing Uche emerged the overall best student for the cohort.