Deputy Health Minister backs women in medicine fellowship

The Deputy Minister for Health, Prof. Grace Ayensu Danquah, has thrown her weight behind a new international programme designed to fast-track women into leadership positions within healthcare, describing it as a well-timed initiative that speaks directly to Ghana’s goals on gender equity in the health sector.

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Prof. Ayensu Danquah made the remarks at the All-Cohort Meeting 2026 in Accra, where she endorsed the Women in Medicine (WIM) Global Leadership Fellowship and urged eligible Ghanaian health professionals to take advantage of what she described as a valuable opportunity.

The WIM Global Leadership Fellowship is a nine-month, part-time programme targeted at early- and mid-career women in healthcare across low- and middle-income countries who are looking to step into leadership roles and advance gender equality within their health systems.

A conference room filled with attendees sitting at round tables covered in red tablecloths. Participants are engaged, with some taking notes and others listening attentively. The environment is professional, featuring various decorations and equipment for presentations.

Its curriculum spans leadership development, project implementation, resource management and evidence-based decision-making, a blend designed to equip participants not just with knowledge, but with the practical tools to drive reform and improve service delivery in their respective contexts.

Prof. Ayensu Danquah noted that the programme arrives at a moment when the need for capable, reform-minded women leaders in Ghana’s health sector is particularly pressing.

She added that the fellowship’s focus on communication and research skills, alongside leadership training, positions it as more than a professional development course, but a pipeline for meaningful, systemic change.

A panel discussion featuring four individuals at a conference table, adorned with a colorful patterned cloth. The group includes a woman in traditional attire, a woman in a light-colored blouse, a man in a suit, and another man in a blazer, engaged in conversation.

The Deputy Minister’s endorsement reflects a broader government commitment to strengthening women’s representation at decision-making levels within Ghana’s health system, an area where, despite women making up a significant portion of the healthcare workforce, leadership positions have historically skewed male.

The WIM Fellowship, by design, directly targets that gap, building the skills, networks and confidence that women in healthcare need to rise and lead.