The MSc maternal and child health (MCH) and policy is a 3 to 4-semester program designed to produce skilled manpower in areas of maternal and child health. This program is designed for competitive individuals with at least undergraduate degrees in health sciences. It is a full time academic masters program comprising of modules, taught courses, seminar presentations, group activities, e-learning and dissertation. This novel program will adopt student-centered approach to learning in all of its courses. Students will have the opportunity of having hands-on experience from renowned faculty and leaders in maternal and child health. In addition, there will be an internship of at least four weeks during the training.

At the end of this course, students will acquire skills to conduct cutting edge research to address MCH-related problems of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The program will also help students acquire skills to translate their research findings to policy. Students will learn communication skills, teamwork and leadership to build their capacity to influence policy makers in taking informed decisions to address maternal and child health problems.

The MSc public mental health and policy (MSc PMHP) is a 3-6 semester program designed to provide postgraduate students with knowledge and technical skills to address unmet mental health needs of the society. Students of the program will learn about current trends in global mental illnesses and their underlying drivers. They will be able to identify the gaps in the current responses to mental health illnesses at the national, regional and global levels and conduct cutting edge research to fill these gaps. The program will enable clinicians, policymakers, managers and relevant stakeholders to think about mental health on a global, regional and national scale, with an awareness of local cultural norms, and prepare graduates of the course for work in these areas. This training on mental illnesses will be nested within a broader and generic public health curriculum with emphasis on mental health and policy to help attend the relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs).

This program will be taught by experts in the fields of mental and public health through lectures, presentations, tutorials, assignments, small group exercise, field trips, short courses, internet open access courses and group discussions. Graduates of the program are expected to obtain a minimum of 30 credit units (24 credits for coursework and 6 credits for dissertation). In addition will have a four week internship with policy makers to enable them have hands-on skills on policy making.

The programme provides an overview of global health issues, research methods; skills required for careers in global health and for the translating of research findings into policy formulation. It uses active student participation, peer teaching, problem-solving and discussion to provide numerous perspectives on global health challenges and solutions. Students learn leadership and communication skills and are provided with opportunities to interact with policy makers and policy making institutions. The knowledge on global health issues and the translation of research into policy focuses on low- and middle-income countries but has global relevance with ample opportunities to practice skills in the classroom and in the field.

With the increasing incidences of public health nutrition concerns in Africa such as poor maternal and infant nutrition, high prevalence of malnutrition in children under five years of age, incidences of infectious diseases, nutrition related chronic diseases in sub Saharan Africa, and the role of nutrition in these conditions has necessitated the need to train manpower with the ability and skills to address the situation through research, relevant policy formulation, planning and execution of nutrition interventions among others.