Adwoa Gyamfi (US-Canada 2021)
Adwoa Gyamfi (39) is pursuing a doctorate in nursing at the University of Connecticut and plans to graduate in May 2022. Her husband and two children (6 and 8) are living in Ghana while she studies in Connecticut, and she longs for the day she can return, degree in hand.
Adwoa was born and raised in Ghana. Her parents taught in village schools and Adwoa and her sisters supplemented the family income by selling ice water and cream at the local market.
A lifelong learner, Adwoa earned a BSc. in nursing and a Master’s in Public Health, both from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, as well as diplomas in education and in nursing. Concurrent with her PhD, she is also studying postgraduate certificate in clinical genetics and genomics (she will graduate on May 8, 2021).
As the principal health tutor at a rural Ghanaian midwifery training school, Adwoa was instrumental in the successful graduation of 259 midwives in 4 years. Before that she worked for a decade as nurse manager in a rural pediatric outpatient department and volunteered to meet the home nursing needs of convalescent nursing mothers and geriatric in the community of residence. Her observation of the need for evidence-based research to improve maternal and child health conditions in sub-Saharan Africa drove her to pursue her doctorate degree.
Adwoa’s thesis investigates church-based social support for breastfeeding among African-American women, a model that can also be applied in sub-Saharan Africa, where exclusive breastfeeding can lower infant mortality and morbidity rates, improve maternal emotional wellbeing and health, and offer economic benefits to family and nations alike. An excellent student and “born leader,” upon her return to Ghana, Adwoa plans to become a university professor in nursing and midwifery, and start a nonprofit organization focusing on women’s health, breastfeeding, and infant malnutrition.
“The insatiable desire to make a significant impact on the lives of women and children in Ghana remains my commitment,” says Adwoa.
