DDHS and district profiles

Profile

Background

Richard K. Essien is a multidisciplinary and self-motivated Public Health Officer (Disease Control) with over a decade of working experience at both the district and regional levels of the Ghana Health Service. He has great experience and knowledge in health problem diagnosis, quality improvement, outbreak investigation, teaching and use of data for action in the achievement of organizational goals. He has a great passion for quality improvement in healthcare delivery.

He holds a Master of Public Health, a Bachelor of Education in health Sciences and a Diploma in Community Health (Disease Control and Nutrition). Other certificate courses he has pursued include Health Administration and Management (GIMPA), Governance and Leadership in Health (Pentecost University, Ghana), Leadership and Management in Health (University of Washington) and Epidemiology for Global Health (University of Washington).

In addition to his current appointment, he also serves as a Regional Facilitator for training on Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS), Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR).

Richard also serves as a member of the Disease Control Profession Specific Committee of the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC), Ghana and an Editorial Board Member of the Eastern Regional Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (ERWEB).

Until his appointment to the position of District Director of Health Services, he was the Eastern Regional Coordinator for Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) from May 2017 to June 2020. During this period, he also held additional positions such as Ag. Regional Coordinator for Tuberculosis Control, Ag. Regional Surveillance Officer and Ag. Regional Research Officer, all in Eastern Region and has participated in the investigation of outbreaks such as Influenza (H3N2), poliomyelitis from environmental surveillance, yellow fever, and meningitis, among others.

Richard K. Essien

DDHS- Kwahu Afram Plains South

Education

  • Master of Public Health

  • Bachelor of Education in Health Sciences

  • Diploma in Community Health (Disease Control and Nutrition)

  • Certificates in:

    • Health Administration and Management (GIMPA)
    • Governance and Leadership in Health (Pentecost University, Ghana)
    • Leadership and Management in Health (University of Washington)
    • Epidemiology for Global Health (University of Washington)

Professional Experience

  • District Director of Health Services (Current Role)

    Leads health planning, implementation, and evaluation at the district level.

  • Eastern Regional Coordinator for Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI): (2017–2020)

    Managed regional immunization programs and supervised outbreak investigations.

  • Additional Acting Roles in Eastern Region:

    • Regional Coordinator for Tuberculosis Control
    • Regional Surveillance Officer
    • Regional Research Officer

  • Outbreak Investigations: Participated in controlling Influenza (H3N2), poliomyelitis, yellow fever, and meningitis outbreaks.

Additional Roles 

  • Regional Facilitator: Trainer for CHPS, EPI, and IDSR programs.

  • Editorial Board Member: Contributes to the Eastern Regional Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (ERWEB).

  • Committee Member: Serves on the Disease Control Profession Specific Committee, Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC), Ghana.