From the Director

The Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC) has always been strategic for its own continual existence as well as being a lot more relevant in its research activities, not only to Ghana as a country, but to the international community as a whole. The drive to build on new initiatives and the urge to sustain a centre of excellence took the best part of our focus in the year 2010 as reported in this document.

It is again gratifying to report that the year 2010 saw KHRC through the successful completion of the neonatal intervention trial (NEWHINTS trial) which was rolled out alongside the “Obaapa VitA trial” which ended in August 2009. The NEWHINTS trial which ended this year intervened on behalf of the newborn children of mothers to develop a feasible and sustainable community-based approach to improve upon neonatal survival in rural Ghana. The Towards 4+5 (Maternal and Neonatal Research programme Consortium) which aimed at supporting evidence based policy and practice for maternal and newborn health to facilitate the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5 has also been completed. 

During the latter part of 2010, the centre started a study to determine whether neonatal vitamin A supplementation (50,000 IU) given once orally either on the day of birth or in the next 2 days will reduce mortality in the first half of infancy (from enrolment to 6 months of age) by at least 15% as compared to placebo. It is an efficacy trial in which 32,000 babies will be individually randomised to receive either 50,000 IU vitamin A or placebo on the day of birth or in the next 2 days over a two year period.
The centre also embarked on a project to determine the effect of prophylactic administration of Oxytocin in Uniject™ by a Community Health Officer on postpartum haemorrhage at home births in the Kintampo North Municipality and the Kintampo South district and the Nkoranza North and South districts of Ghana. It sought to determine if administration of 10 IU oxytocin in Uniject™ during the third stage of labour by a Community Health Officer will reduce the risk of postpartum haemorrhage, defined as blood loss of 500ml or more, by 50% relative to deliveries attended by the same type of provider who does not provide a uterotonic drug.

The centre has been progressing extremely well in other areas of research, having been established as a centre of excellence for malaria drugs and vaccines trials. Drug trials of Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) anti-malarials have been carried out within this reporting period. The promising results generated from the clinically most advanced malaria vaccine, the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) RTS,S malaria vaccine being tested under the sponsorship of the Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) in collaboration with GSK has led to a pre-licensure trial of this vaccine that is currently ongoing and in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It is gratifying that the initial results from the older cohort of the malaria vaccine trial will be availed in the last quarter of 2011.

The National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA has been supporting malaria research work over the next five years starting in 2007 as evident in a contract signed with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and the Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC).

The role of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) in the treatment of malaria using ACTs is being investigated. An effectiveness trial of the newly recommended ACT in Ghana is also being researched into. The results from these projects will provide useful feedback to the National Malaria Control Programme in Ghana and in other malaria endemic countries.

The Mental Health unit is carrying out a study on epilepsy in the Kintampo North Municipality and the Kintampo South district. This will provide a great advantage for people living with the disease to receive treatment. Also, conscious efforts will be made to reduce the stigma. The study will also reveal the main risk factors common in the Ghanaian setting and this is important for preventive purposes.

The Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) within the Kintampo North Municipality and the Kintampo South district has expanded our scope of work in Population-Based Surveillance as the tracking of study participants and monitoring of the population dynamics have been enhanced further. A new HDSS has been started by KHRC in the Newmont Ahafo Mining area and this is expected to provide new research opportunities.

It is now time to make more impact into the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as their effects will continue to rise in the next decade.

The mandate of KHRC to research into health problems pertaining to the middle belt to help inform policy within the Ghana Health Service/ Ministry of Health has been progressing very well. These goals can be achieved only through unity and hard work among the rank and file of the staff. The business/strategic plan for KHRC is being followed stringently and has helped in charting our research agenda and keeping us on course.

I wish to thank all again, especially the traditional and political authorities, opinion leaders, and the community members within the core areas that we work (Kintampo North Municipality and the Kintampo South district, Nkoranza North and South districts, Techiman Municipality, Wenchi and Tain districts), for their unflinching support, co-operation and interest in our activities.

My sincere thanks go to the staff of KHRC and the Director of the Research & Development Division of the Ghana Health Service. I wish to thank the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of health, the District/Municipal Directors in KHRC’s area of operations as well as the Medical Superintendents and all staff of the various health facilities for their cooperation and support over the period under review.

May I take the opportunity to thank our donors, funding agencies and collaborators, sister institutions and our sector ministry for the continued interest and support for our activities.

Dr. Seth Owusu-Agyei, Director, KHRC.