BIODATA
Prof. David Teye Doku holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Public Health with concentration in Epidemiology and a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Health Sciences (major in Public Health) both from the School of Health Sciences, Tampere University, Finland. Prof. Doku is the Director of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) and a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Department of Population and Health. Prof. Doku is also an Adjunct Professor (Docent) in Public Health at the Tampere University, Finland. He has previously served as Head of the Department of Population and Health and a Deputy Director of DRIC.
Prof. Doku began his academic career in 2008 as a researcher at the then Tampere School of Public Health, University of of. David Teye Doku holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Public Health with concentration in Epidemiology and a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Health Sciences (major in Public Health) both from the School of Health Sciences, Tampere University, Finland. Prof. Doku is the Director of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy (DRIC) and a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Department of Population and Health. Prof. Doku is also an Adjunct Professor(Docent) in Public Health at the Tampere University, Finland. He has previously served as Head of the Department of Population and Health and a Deputy Director of DRIC. Prof. Doku began his academic career in 2008 as a researcher at the then Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere (now Tampere University). He was appointed at the University of Cape Coast in 2011 as a lecturer. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 2013, promoted to the rank of associate professor in 2020 and professor in 2022. Prof. Doku teaches courses in Epidemiology and Public Health at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His research interest includes: adolescents health; health inequalities, maternal, neonatal and child health in low and- middleincome countries.
Over the past 12 years, Prof Doku has successfully produced 10 PhD graduates either as a principal supervisor or a cosupervisor. Most of these graduates are holding responsible career positions
2016: Best Evolved Researcher, UCC;
2016: Co-supervisor of an outstanding PhD thesis, School of Graduate Studies, UCC;
2011: Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year, School of Health Sciences, Tampere University, Finland; and
2009 and 2010: Finalist, best young researcher, European Association of Public Health Schools.
Prof. Doku has served on several committees at the University of Cape Coast and has initiated and contributed to the development of a number of policies, guidelines, courses and academic programmes, including courses in Advanced Epidemiology and Global Health, and Bachelor of Public Health (with specialisation in Health Promotion, Epidemiology and Disease Control), Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Master of Public Health in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. During his tenure as head of department, he promoted the establishment of the Centre of Mixed Migration and Diaspora Studies (CeMMiDS) and has fostered departmental partnerships with a number of institutions both in Ghana and internationally.
Prof. Doku has substantial national and international exposure and networks. He serves as external expert examiner in the disciplines of Epidemiology and Public Health for universities both in Ghana and internationally. Prof. Doku holds important editorial positions with reputable journals. He has undertaken research projects with some of the leading worlds scholars in his area of expertise. Prof. Doku currently leads Ghana’s team of a global network working on providing compelling evidence to inform advocacy for accelerating progress towards the attainment of the Health and Health-related Sustainable Development Goals (HHSDGs). This network is an inter-sectoral strategy and a global Consortium, led by the world’s top global health scientists, to drive progress on the HHSDGs as well as address Climate Change, Health, and Complex Challenges (CHOICE).
In 2014, Prof. Doku was part of a 12-member international team of experts invited by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to the Strategic Meeting on Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in West Africa on Scaling up Contact Tracing in the three affected countries (Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone) during the Ebola outbreak.
Aside from teaching, publications and supervision, together with other colleagues, Prof. Doku has won a number of external research grants and consultancy contract. His total grants won exceed Three Million Dollars (>USD 3,000,000,00). He played key role in the design and implementation of these projects.
He has also designed and facilitated several seminars and workshops locally and internationally for both students and faculty members. Prof. Doku’s research and academic network covers several countries, including South Africa, USA, Norway, Canada, Germany, Australia, Sweden and Finland.
Prof. Doku is an elder of the Apostolic Church-Ghana and serves as a patron of the UCC branch of the Apostolic Church-Ghana, Students and Associates (APOSA). Prof. Doku is married to Laura and they are blessed with two children and two wards, namely, Luukas, Hilma, Regina and Rosina, respectively.
ABSTRACT
The Causes of the Causes:Is society the producer of its own health and ill-health?
Over the past six decades, public health has improved remarkably globally. Life expectancy has increased for more than twenty years in some countries and nearly all countries in the world have seen tremendous improvement in longevity. Over all, people are living longer than ever. However, during the same period, health inequalities, that is, measurable variations in health which are unfair, unjust and avoidable, have also increased both within countries and between countries. For example, a girl born today can expect to live for more than 85 years, if she is born in countries such as Japan, Sweden or Finland but less than 60 years if she is born in countries like Nigeria, Chad or the Central African Republic and about 66 years if she is born in Ghana.
inquiry regarding factors which influence health outcomes other than medical factors-the Social Determinants of Health.The social determinants of health are the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. They reflect the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age. The social determinants of health encompass the wider social, economic, political and cultural forces, systems and policies. In this inaugural lecture, I will discuss the following questions: What are the causes of the causes of ill-health? Whose responsibility is health? What is society’s responsibility for the individual’s and the public’s health? I will also discuss some theoretical underpinnings of health inequalities as well as methodological issues in measuring socioeconomic inequalities in low resource settings.
Further, I will present an overview of some of the research I have done in the field of Social Epidemiology and Public Health with particular focus on health inequalities and make some recommendations for addressing the unfair, unjust and avoidable differences in health. The take home message is that society plays a huge role in the distribution of advantages and disadvantages which in the long run produce health inequalities. Therefore, to build a just, peaceful and prosperous nation, society must address the causes of the causes of ill-health.