The Public Health Division is of the key Divisions in GHS. The Division leads and ensures development and implementation of policies and strategic plans and programmes that protect, promote and improve public health and contribute to the overall health and socio-economic status of families and communities. It is responsible for:
- Safeguarding and improving the health of the general population or communities
- Developing public health interventions targeted at people in communities
- Promoting general socio-economic development, preventing diseases,
promoting healthy practices, treating diseases (especially mass
treatment), and rehabilitating patients afflicted with diseasesDeveloping partnerships with relevant stakeholdersThe priorities of the Division include: - Strengthening epidemiological surveillance on priority diseases
- Ensuring early detection and effectively controlling epidemic prone and priority endemic diseases
- Strengthening routine immunization through the Reaching Every Child (REC) approach.
The Division is headed by a Director and has the following two main Departments under it:
- Disease Surveillance Department
- Disease Control and Prevention Department
Each of these Departments is headed by a Deputy Director. The Departments also have several programmes, Units and Sections under them. The programmes are headed by Programme Managers.
Apart from the afore-mentioned two main Departments, there are other two Units, which fall under the Division but are yet to be upgraded into Departments. The Units are:
- National Public Health Reference Laboratory
- Port Health Unit
Functions of Public Health Division
- Providing leadership and coordinating public health activities within GHS.
- Formulating public health policies within the framework of approved national health policies.
- Designing and managing health surveillance, disease prevention and control, occupational and environmental health and other relevant public health programmes;
- Developing and disseminating public health strategic plans, protocols, standards and guidelines.
- Providing technical support in health surveillance, investigations and containment of disease outbreaks, epidemics and risks to health.
- Ensuring inter-sectoral partnerships to improve health and reduce inequalities
- Monitoring and evaluating public health interventions and programmes
- Accelerating the scaling up of essential public health interventions: ITN/IPT-P. DOTS, PMTCT/CT/ARVT, EPI, public education on prevention of risks factors of NCDs, MDAs using CDTI, IDSR etc
- Provision of technical support for the Regional Public Health Reference Laboratories
- Development of early warning systems and the management of epidemics
Programs