By Patrick Opio
Senior Communications Officer
Prof. Georgina Yeboah, the Executive Director of the African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth), a Pan-African network of health professionals and institutions, has lauded Lira University for championing partnerships and collaborations in higher institutions.
Prof. Yeboah, said the AFREhealth, which Lira University has joined, is a Pan-African inter-professional network that works to improve the quality of healthcare in Africa through research, education and capacity building. She was making a presentation during the Public Lecture at EMBA Hall, Lira University, on 27th February 2026.
AFREhealth is located at the School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana.
Prof. Yeboah added that AFREhealth serves as a leader and convener for scaling up south-south networking and collaboration across the continent to address the daunting health challenges through innovative inter-professional education and research.
Ms Anna Grace Auma handing over the certificate of Fundamentals of Implementation Science awarded by the University of Washington, to Dr. Kenneth Anyolitho
She reveals that AFREhealth is one of the largest inter-professional and multi-disciplinary organizations in Africa with a vision of being a responsive and leading African forum in the pursuit of excellence in health research, education and service provision.
She added that the organisation aims at providing African leadership for responsive health professions education, training, research and service delivery through partnership/Collaboration, networking, advocacy, resource mobilization, strategic communication, sharing best practices, capacity building and transformation of responsive health professions education
The AFREhealth, Prof. Yeboah said, is a self-sustaining, viable, relevant and impactful institution in addressing Africa’s health challenges, serving as a platform for knowledge generation, sharing and learning by building vibrant, relevant and impactful communities of practice in various areas related to education and research in health in Africa.
The organisation also focuses on addressing Africa’s human resources for health challenges by promoting contextually relevant and transformative inter-professional health education in African institutions in order to contribute to increasing the numbers and quality of health care professionals.
It also contributes to improving quality of care and health care services in Africa through research, promotion of evidence-based programming and sharing of best practices in addressing key health priorities including TB, HIV, Malaria, maternal and child health, Non-Communicable Diseases and emerging and repeat epidemics.
Ms Anna Grace Auma, the Dean Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, underscored the importance of public lectures as invaluable opportunities for gaining specialized knowledge from experts, foster intellectual growth, and network with peers and industry professionals.
She lauded the Directorate of Graduate Training and Research for always organising public lectures. “I am equally happy with the Management of AFREhealth organisation for the partnership and collaboration with Lira University,” she said.
The Dean noted that Lira University is committed in the partnership and collaboration with the AFREHealth organisation and others. “As Lira University, we are proud to be in the mutual partnership, a relationship that will benefit both partners,” she said.
Dr. Sampson Udho, the acting Director of Graduate Training and Research observed that public lectures can be attended in-person, online, or in hybrid formats, making them accessible to a wide audience seeking personal or professional development.
He noted that public lectures provide unique insights beyond standard curriculum materials, encourage critical thinking, and spark inspiration through direct interaction with leaders in various fields.
The Public Lecture Moderator, Dr. Maxson Kenneth Anyolitho, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Public Health, noted that the Public lecture explored the importance of partnerships and collaborations in strengthening higher education institutions.
“It aims to highlight the role of strategic partnerships in academic excellence, share best practices in research and institutional collaboration,” Dr. Anyolitho said, adding that the lecture would promote networking and sustainable institutional linkages.
