PROF. JAMES-PAUL KRETCHY


Profile

Dr. James-Paul Kretchy is an astute public health biomedical scientist and senior lecturer, currently serving as the founding head of the Public Health Department at Central University. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Health from the University of Ghana School of Public Health, in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen School of Global Health, Denmark, and an MPhil in Medical Microbiology from the University of Ghana Medical School. Dr. Kretchy’s research focuses on public health, infectious disease diagnostics, epidemiology, and the One Health approach. During his doctoral studies, he was a DANIDA Fellow and a visiting research fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. With over two decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Kretchy has played a pivotal role in teaching, research, curriculum development, and mentoring. His contributions have significantly advanced healthcare capacity building in Ghana and across Africa, producing numerous frontline, mid-level, and advanced professionals in the health sciences. He has authored more than 40 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings, and has also written for newspapers. He is a reviewer for multiple academic journals and a grants reviewer for the UK’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). He has collaborated on numerous multidisciplinary research grants and presented his work at prestigious international conferences, including the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (USA) and the 8th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (Denmark). Dr. Kretchy is actively involved in several global and local professional networks, including the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), the International COVID-19 Research Network (ICRN), the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Disability (GBD) Research Group, and the Ghana Public Health Association (GPHA). Nationally, he contributes as a reviewer of the One Health Policy and serves on the One Health Working Group. He also chaired both national and local organising committees for the Advocacy for Health (A4H) project, which successfully advocated for the passage of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax bill by the Ghanaian Parliament to reduce consumption. Additionally, he serves as a programme assessor for the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and as an external examiner and moderator for the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET). Dr. Kretchy is also a dedicated academic advisor, supervisor, and mentor to numerous undergraduate and postgraduate students both locally and internationally.

Basic Information

  • Name: Dr. James-Paul Kretchy
  • Designation: Senior Lecturer and Head of Department
  • Department: Public Health
  • Institutional Email: jkretchy@central.edu.gh
  • Office Location: Room 11, Plaza Building

Academic Qualifications/Education:

  • Ph.D., Public Health: University of Ghana School of Public Health, in Collaboration with University of Copenhagen School of Global Health, 2017
  • Mphil, Medical Microbiology: University of Ghana Medical School, 2007
  • BSc. Biological Sciences: University of Cape Coast School of Biological Sciences, 2003

Research Interests

Dr. Kretchy’s research focuses on areas including Epidemiology of Communicable Diseases, Genetics, Sanitation, Hygiene, and One Health, with a particular interest in Public Health and Biomedical Sciences, with an emphasis on applying One Health approaches to research on Tropical Communicable Diseases and Environmental Health. Additional areas of interest include Antibiotic Medications, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Genetic Polymorphisms. As part of his research, he has also supervised and co-supervised over 180 undergraduate and postgraduate student dissertations in Central University and elsewhere.

Publications (5 most recent)

  • Kretchy, J. P., Asiamah, J. J., Dumevi, C. Y., Oli, A. N., Ayi, I., Dzodzomenyo, M., Ayeh-Kumi, P. F. (2025). Exposure Pathways to Faecal Pollution in Urban Environments, Health Implications, and the Adoption of One-Health Mitigation Strategies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. In Urban Pollution – Environmental Challenges in Healthy Modern Cities. Eds: Bustillo-Lecompte, C. F., and Summers, J. K. IntechOpen. ISBN: 978-1-83769-930-8.
  • Chiari, W., Amirah, S., Lemu, Y.K., Subbaram, K., Edwards, R. J., Kretchy, J. P., Vento, S., Khader, Y., Rademaker, M. (2024). Trends in publication and collaboration of health-themed systematic reviews before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A bibliometric study. Narra X Journal, 2(1), pp.e106-e106.
  • Opuni, K. F., Kretchy, J. P., Agyabeng, K., Boadu, J. A., Adanu, T., Ankamah, S., Appiah, A., Amoah, G. B., Baidoo, M., Kretchy, I. A. (2023). Contamination of herbal medicinal products in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Heliyon.
  • Kretchy, J. P. (2022). Soil-transmissible helminths: diagnosis, transmission dynamics, and disease management strategies in low-and middle-income countries. In “Parasitic helminths and zoonoses – From basic to applied research”. Ed.  Morales-Montor, J. IntechOpen Publishers. ISBN 978-1-80355-568-3.
  • Kretchy, J. P., Adase, S. K., Gyansa-Lutterodt, M. (2021). The Prevalence and risks of Antibiotic Self-Medication (ASM) in residents of a rural community in Accra, Ghana. Scientific African. 14(2021):e01006.
  • Kretchy, J. P., Dzodzomenyo, M., Ayi, I., Dwomoh, D., Agyabeng, K., Konradsen, F., Dalsgaard, A. (2020). Risk of faecal pollution among waste handlers in a resource-deprived coastal peri-urban settlement in Southern Ghana. PLoS One, 15(10), p.e0239587.

Awards and Recognitions

In October 2022, Dr. Kretchy was officially acknowledged and congratulated by the research publication database, Elsevier, for publishing two open-access articles between 2019 and 2021 that were aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), contributing to global efforts in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

Professional Memberships

  • Senior Collaborator, Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Research Group, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, United States of America, June 2025, to date.
  • Collaborator, Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Research Group, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, United States of America, September 2024, to June 2025.
  • Executive Committee Member, Central University Teachers Association (CUTA), May 25, 2022, to May 2024. (Member since 2014).
  • Chair, Local Organising Committee (LoC), Advocacy for Health Project (A4H), November 15, 2022, to 2024.
  • Organising Committee Member, Ghana Public Health Association, October 2022, to date. (Member since 2012).
  • Member, Acute severe hepatitis of Unknown Etiology (ASHUE) in children research group with headquarters in Indonesia, August 2022, to date.

Courses Taught

Postgraduate

  • CMPH 813: Introduction to Public Health
  • CMPH 804: Disaster Prevention and Management
  • CMPH 812: Environmental and Occupational Health
  • CMPH 809: Communicable and Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

Undergraduate

  • PHEA 403: Professional Practice of Public Health and Ethics      
  • PHEA 425: Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
  • PHEA 424: Outbreak Investigation
  • PHEA 426: Immunization Programmes and Policies
  • PHEA 406: International Health Cooperations
  • PHEA 408: Public Health Ethics and Law in Ghana

Projects and Grants

  1. Title: Multidisciplinary approach in identifying barriers to improved sanitation in Ghana, perspectives from Engineering, Business, Sociology, and Public Health.
  2. Funding Agency: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)
  3. Duration: July 2011 to August 2015
  4. Role: Co-Investigator (Lead researcher: Work package 4- Biological, environmental, and occupational health risks and hazards to sanitation workers)
  5. Amount: DKK 10,294,890 
  6. Brief description: Doctoral Research Fellowship, Sustainable Sanitation (SUSA) Ghana Project, Project Code: 10-050KU.
  7. Title: Demystifying science in selected second-cycle schools in Kumasi, Ghana.
  8. Funding Agency: Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)
  9. Duration: February to May 2019
  10. Role: Co-Investigator
  11. Amount: DKK 9,000   
  12. Brief description: Activity Grant 
  13. Title: Microvascular damage and pathogenesis of cerebral in Ghanaian children.
  14. Funding Agency: The US National Institute of Health (NIH)
  15. Duration: July 2004 to August 2007
  16. Role: Co-Investigator (Student)
  17. Amount: USD 2,000.00
  18. Brief description: NIH Partial Grant for Graduate Studies

Outreach and Engagement

  • Programmes Assessor,Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), September 2025 to date.
  • Internal Examiner, School of Graduate Studies and Research, Master of Public Health programme, Central University, September 2024 to date.
  • External Examiner, Institute for Security, Disaster, and Emergency Studies (ISDES), Accra, Ghana, June 24, 2024, to date. 
  • Facilitator, National Advocacy for Policy Enactment of Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Ghana, November 15, 2022, to date.
  • External Examiner / Reviewer / Moderator, Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), June 1, 2019, to date.
  • Patron, Central University Public Health Students Association (CUPHSA), October 2022 to date.
  • Chair, Local Organising Committee, Ghana Public Health Association, in collaboration with the A4H project, Float in Accra to sensitise Ghanaians about the adverse effects of SSBs consumption and present an advocacy petition to the finance minister and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health to enact a tax component on SSBs in Ghana, November 15, 2022.

Additional Roles / Responsibilities

  • Head: Department of Public Health, Central University
  • Head: Paraclinical Unit, Department of Physician Assistantship Studies, Central University
  • Hall Master: Integrity Hall, Central University
  • Mentor/Marriage Counsellor: ICGC, CTE

Personal Website / Profile Link (if any)

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