President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has appointed the Ghana Health Service Director of Health Promotion, Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye, as the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), taking over from Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, who has been nominated as a Minister of Health.
In a letter, the Secretary to the President explained that the appointment is pursuant to Section 14 (1) of the National Health Insurance Act, 2012 (Act 852).
According to him, Dr. Aboagye’s appointment is “pending receipt of the constitutionally required advice of the governing board of the Authority given in consultation with the Public Services Commission.”
“Kindly indicate your acceptance or otherwise of this appointment within 14 days of receipt of this letter. Please accept the President’s best wishes,” a portion of a letter dated 26th February 2024 stated.
Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye
Profile of Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye
Dr. Aboagye’s qualifications include a PhD in National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana (Research) from Leeds Beckett University (obtained in 2016), a Master’s degree in Public Health and Health Promotion (obtained in 2010) from the same university, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Cape Coast (obtained in 2006).
His other qualifications include a higher national certificate in pharmacy technology from the Kumasi Technical University (obtained in 2002).
Experience
The 45-year-old national health insurance expert is currently serving as the Director of the Health Promotion Division within the Ghana Health Service, and bring to the table a wealth of experience in the fields of National Health Insurance Finance, Public Health, and Health Promotion.
He led Ghana’s risk communication efforts and was part of the presidential taskforce for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana from 2020 to 2023.
Exploits and International Exposure
Prior to being appointed as the Director of Health Promotion, he was the cohort leader for Public Health and Health Promotion programme at the University of West London, United Kingdom, and an external examiner on National Health Insurance Financing, Public Health and Health Promotion at both the University of Salford and the London Metropolitan University.
Furthermore, within the ECOWAS community, he has the honour of chairing the Public Health Risk Communication and Community Engagement for Disease Control within the West Africa Health Organisation.
This role entails facilitating experience sharing, advocacy, learning, and promotion of better health through building stronger health systems across the 15 ECOWAS member states towards achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development goals.
Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of the Africa CDC Public Health Risk Communication and Community Engagements Community of Practice for the 55-member states aimed at promoting best practices, strengthening health system, including national health insurance finance, continuous learning and knowledge exchange in Africa.
Research
He has about 11 impactful research papers in the field of health insurance, public health and health promotion and has presented his research work locally and internationally extensively.
Laurels and Awards
Dr. Da-Costa Aboagye has received numerous prestigious awards and citations, including the MTN Young Professionals Role Model in Health (Gold Category, 2020), the Golden Citizen Award (2021) and overall National Best Health Leader of the Year 2023.
He was honoured with the Order of the Volta – Companion Category, the highest award of the Republic of Ghana, for his contributions and sacrifices during Ghana’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2023.By Michael Ofosu-Afriyie, Kumasi
