Towards Effective Disease Control in Ghana

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) was established in 1979 as a semi autonomous Institution of the University of Ghana. In 2000 it became one of the six founding constituent institutions of the College of Health Sciences. Its original mandate, to research into infectious tropical diseases of public health importance in Ghana, has lately been expanded to include non-communicable diseases. The Institute since its inception has offered undergraduate and graduate research opportunities, and training to numerous students and scientists as well as specialized diagnostic services to support national health programmes. The varied papers presented in these two volumes show that the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research has a diverse research portfolio aimed at supporting health care policy formulation and delivery in Ghana. It envisaged that students in tertiary institutions, especially those contemplating a career in biomedical research, research scientists as well as the general public, will come to appreciate the broad field of research being conducted in the Institute. Policy makers should also find the readers useful as they provide data, which could underpin health policies in the country. Volume one presents papers on malaria while volume two covers other research areas including TB, neglected tropical diseases, diarrhoea and viral infections as well as phyto-medicines and health systems. We hope that this will stimulate wide discussions to appreciate the work of the University and the Institute in particular.