Festus Adams

Policy and Research Associate

BIOGRAPHY

Festus Adams is a public health expert with nearly 15 years of experience in healthy lifestyles and health promotion, climate change and health adaptations, health cooperation, and public health emergency operations management. He is proficient in health policy planning, monitoring and evaluation, healthcare project management, and stakeholder engagement. Festus has successfully led teams in translating health information and science into practical applications, particularly for vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities in West Africa. As a Healthy Lifestyle Specialist for the Regenerative Health and Nutrition Program (2008-2012), he implemented and scaled up a nationwide project targeting economically disadvantaged women. This initiative, inspired by a health study visit to the Dimona community in Israel, influenced national health policy to promote wealth through health. Festus Adams' international experience and collaborations have significantly enriched his public health career. As a policy planning and evaluation officer at MOH-PPME (2012-2013) and the acting Directorate Administrator, he managed portfolios, including maternal and child health cooperation projects funded by JICA, KOICA, and the Korean Foundation for International Healthcare. His involvement in public health preparedness and response during the West African Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak, serving as deputy coordinator for the MOH in Ghana (2014-2016) and managing Ghana�s emergency operation centre, involved extensive collaboration with international organizations and multilateral institutions. Academically, Mr Adams� accomplishments include receiving the Australian Leadership Awards for Climate Change and Health Adaptation at Griffith University (2012), completing a Master of Science in Public Health at the School of Environment (2016), a Master of Arts in International Development Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies under a KOICA scholarship (2015), and a Postgraduate Research Scholarship from the Griffith School of Medicine and Public Health to pursue a PhD in Public Health (2018-2023). Mr. Adams has led several consultancies and public health projects, including working as a Research Consultant for the Collaborative for the Advancement of Infection Prevention and Control (CAIPC) from December 2019 to 2021, developing an infection control support model for LMICs, and contributing to government policy-related documents and scientific publications through research collaborations. He has been a visiting fellow at the University of Yonsei Public Health Department and the Global Health Research Centre at Seoul National University, presenting at various research conferences, most recently at the Global Health Security Conference in Sydney, Australia (June 2024). His research focuses on strengthening international cooperation to manage global health security threats from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, using the COVID-19 pandemic response as a case study. During his PhD studies, Festus taught and tutored several global public health courses, including Global Issues in Infection Prevention and Control, Field Research and Research Methodology in Public Health, and Global Health Priorities and Interventions.

CONTACT

contactus@ighd-gb.org