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A national health insurance expert, with extensive experience in the fields of national health insurance financing, public health, and health promotion, Dr. Da Costa Aboagye is the new head of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). He is expected to assume office any moment from now as Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, has been appointed to the position of Minister of Health in the recently announced reshuffling of ministers by President Akufo-Addo.
As the Director of the Health Promotion Division within the Ghana Health Service, he led Ghana’s risk communication efforts, and was part of the presidential task force for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana from 2020 to 2023; former cohort leader for the Public Health and Health Promotion programme at the University of West London, United Kingdom; and an external examiner on National Health Insurance Financing and Public Health and Health Promotion at both the University of Salford and London Metropolitan University, Dr. Dacosta Aboagye brings a wealth of diverse experience to his new role.
He has served for many years in leadership positions in several organisations and committees, which include, the Chairman for Public Health Risk Communication and Community Engagement for Disease Control within the ECOWAS subregion as well as the Chairman of the Africa CDC Public Health Risk Communication and Community Engagements Community of Practice for the 55 member states.
At these two aforementioned positions, his roles entail 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; and ensuring the promotion of best practices, health system strengthening, including national health insurance finance, continuous learning, and knowledge exchange in Africa.
He has about eleven (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.
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 the 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.
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 Kumasi Technical University obtained in 2002.
Regarding his political experience, he has served the New Patriotic Party in various capacities, which include the position of Branch Secretary for the New Patriotic Party-United Kingdom Branch. He has also been an instrumental figure in the party’s activities in the Ashanti Region.
The 45-year-old is expected to drive the Authority’s main objective of attaining universal health insurance coverage and ensuring access to basic healthcare services for all Ghanaians.
