Setting new standards for healthcare training in Ghana

With rising disease burdens, workforce gaps and increasing demand for quality care, Ghana’s healthcare system is under strain. In response, the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana has partnered with the University of Ghana and The University of Manchester to launch a major competency-based education reform.

Healthcare systems globally are facing profound challenges: the rise of non-communicable diseases, emerging infectious threats and the transformative role of technology such as artificial intelligence. In Ghana, these challenges are compounded by healthcare workforce shortages, professional migration across borders, and growing patient expectations for people-centred, ethical, high-quality care.

In response, Ghana's Medical and Dental Council recognised an urgent need to modernise training for doctors and dentists, ensuring graduates are prepared to meet not only Ghana's health needs, but also global healthcare standards.

Building a dynamic, globally benchmarked training system

To address these challenges, the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana, in collaboration with the University of Ghana Medical and Dental Schools and The University of Manchester’s School of Medical Sciences, launched a major competency-based education initiative.

Funded by Manchester's International Science Partnership Fund, the project aimed to benchmark Ghana's medical and dental curricula against international best practices while ensuring responsiveness to Ghana’s specific healthcare needs. 

Crucially, Manchester has played a pivotal role in supporting Ghana to set its first-ever national competency standards for medical and dental education - a landmark achievement that is uplifting standards of care and driving excellence in teaching and learning across the country.

“Working with the Ghanaian Medical and Dental Council and the University of Ghana has been a very productive and fun experience; we have learnt a lot from each other,” says Jo Hart, Professor of Health Professional Education at Manchester.

“Our partnership encompasses research, social responsibility and education. Their drive towards competency-based medical education and creating the best doctors and dentists for their health system aligns closely with our ethos in supporting international health workforce.”

Rolling out the initiative

The initiative rolled out across three strategic phases. The first phase involved defining the essential core competencies for modern practice through a series of strategic meetings, beginning with a start-up session in Manchester and followed by a national consensus meeting in Accra. 

In the second phase, a major faculty development effort equipped educators across Ghana with new skills in competency-based teaching methods, drawing heavily on Manchester’s internationally recognised PRiME staff development programme. 

Finally, the third phase focused on refining and validating the draft core competencies, consolidating the project's outcomes, and reinforcing a culture of research and continuous professional development within medical and dental education.

Throughout the initiative, Ghanaian educators engaged directly with Manchester’s teaching models through site visits and international knowledge-sharing events, including presentations at Manchester’s Centenary Celebrations.

Defining the future of healthcare education in Ghana and beyond

The result of this collaboration is a comprehensive, future-facing framework that defines the skills, attitudes and knowledge expected of every newly graduating doctor and dentist in Ghana. These standards place strong emphasis on clinical excellence, communication skills, leadership, entrepreneurship, advocacy, people-centred care, research, professionalism, and a global health perspective.

By embedding these core competencies into medical and dental education nationally, Ghana is building a ‘glocalised’ workforce - one that is internationally competitive while being deeply responsive to the specific needs of local communities.

As the Medical and Dental Council of Ghana continues to champion these reforms, this initiative stands as a powerful model of how strategic international collaboration can drive real change. The partnership with Manchester is not only raising the bar for medical and dental education in Ghana, but also strengthening the foundation for improved healthcare delivery and better patient outcomes across the region, while setting a new standard for excellence that others across Africa and beyond may now follow.