Profile
Dr Anabah, agent of change in the health sector
Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah is a professional medical doctor whose specialties include critical care, emergency medicine and anaesthesiology. He is among the few medical doctors with such specialties.
He is experienced in Health Management with practical approach to problem solving and has a knack for “see things through” to a successful completion.
Challenges in his early years could not kill his vision of becoming a health practitioner and he has over the years continued to contribute effectively to providing quality service in the health sector.
The Spectator caught up with him recently to delve into his professional and personal life.
Background
Dr Anabah hails from a town called Garu, in the Worikambo Electoral Area in the Upper East Region.
The talented medical doctor has six siblings, from the late Joseph Anabah and Mrs Veronica Anabah.
Dr Anabah speaks English, Spanish, Italian, Kusaal, Hausa and Twi and is married with two children.
Education
Having an indefatigable father who occupied portfolios of a teacher and politician, Dr Anabah had his primary school education in a haphazard manner.
He went to Nalerigu Primary School and later attended Worikambo Primary School and later moved to Bawku Primary School which is also known as Wenamzua Primary School from where he later moved again to Worikambo to attend middle school.
Dr Anabah’s middle school education was not a “straight” one as he moved back and forth from Worikambo and Winanzua middle schools and later proceeded to Bawku Secondary School until he got a scholarship in 1988 to study in Cuba.
From 1988 to 1992, Dr Anabah obtained a Junior High School Diploma from the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial School at Isle of Youth in Cuba, where he was the Senior Prefect and continued his High School education at the Andrei Grechko Senior High School, also at the Isle of Youth, Cuba from 1992 to 1993.
While in the High School, everybody thought Dr Anabah would read Cybernetics because he was a genius at Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry but he rather pursued his dream of becoming a medical doctor.
Attaining a higher feat and making his dream come true, Dr Anabah further attended Higher Institute of Medical Sciences at Santa Clara, Cuba where he studied Medicine from 1995 to 2001.
He was one of the best graduates in the entire university and was also the Best Foreign Student, who took awards in sports, culture among others.
Adding to his educational laurels, the never-say-never doctor enrolled at the Higher Institute of Medical Sciences in Havana, Cuba where he did his Specialist Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation from 2003 to 2007.
He again obtained a Masters in Critical Care and Emergencies from La Sapienza, University of Rome in Italy, from 2008 to 2009.
Professional Experiences
Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah rose through the ranks to become a force to reckon with in the medical field.
He began his clinical attachment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in October 2001 to January 2002 and then became a House Officer there from March 2002 to February 2003.
This hardworking and ambitious health professional later became a Medical Officer from March to October 2003 at the same Hospital.
He served as a Specialist Anaesthesiologist and Resuscitation at the Ridge Hospital, Accra between 2007 and 2008, after which he became a Consultant Anaesthesiologist cum Head of Department Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the same hospital, from 2009 to 2012.
Dr Anabah has been a United Nations Examining Physician since 2013 to date for the world body.
He was the Medical Director of Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), Accra from February 2016 to May 2017 where he gave the hospital a tremendous facelift.
Dr Anabah has been the C.E.O of Habana Medical Service, Tamale since June 2017 to date and is also the Executive Director of African Centre for Health Policy Research and Analysis (ACH-PRA) from January 2018 to date.
Achievements
Having a keen interest in the development of health systems in Ghana, Dr Anabah has put up a sterling performance in contributing his quota towards quality health delivery in the nation.
He successfully developed and established a Critical Care Unit at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and also secured a grant from Rotary International to establish an Obstetric High Depended Unit at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
He again developed the first ever BSc Nurse Anaesthesia Programme in Africa and the programme is being rolled out at the University for Development Studies, Tamale, since 2001.
According to him, the programme has come to resolve a huge national problem by creating a clear career pathway for nurse anaesthetists in Ghana who hitherto had no opportunity for career progression in the specialty.
Dr Anabah told The Spectator that he had established and managed a private hospital called “Habana Medical Service” at Tamale which has received several awards both locally and internationally for the quality of care and management style.
“I was celebrated as a Humanitarian Hero by LifeBox Foundation, 2015 in the United Kingdom for my contribution in the development of anaesthesia in the world,” he boldly and happily stated.
He has established and funded a health facility policy think-tank; Africa Centre for Health Policy Research and Analysis (ACH-PRA), headquartered at Tamale.
Hobbies and Interests
The banku and okro soup lover likes reading, gardening, public speaking and sports and is a Rotarian, currently the Rotary Foundation Chair of the Tamale Rotary Club.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
He once sold kenkey to pay his school fees, and now wears the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police. DCOP Kofi Sarpong, police officer and award winning gospel musician is charting a journey few could script.
In an interview with The Spectator chronicling his rise, the newly promoted DCOP took us on his journey through the ranks.
Early Life
“I was born in Berekum in the Bono Region, then Brong Ahafo, to Comfort Yeboah, affectionately called Maame Yaa, and the late Chief Inspector Kofi Sarpong,” he said.
His family story is one of resilience. His mother had two children before her husband died in an accident. She later married Kofi Sarpong’s father, a police officer, and had two more, himself and his junior brother. “So we are four, unfortunately one is deceased, just last year, so we are three now.”
School and struggle
He started at Berekum Methodist Primary under the old ‘Sito’ system. In Form Two, he moved to Obuasi to stay with a guardian for his Form Three education, then returned to Berekum for Form Four. He later attended Berekum Senior High School where he studied General Arts and shone as an athlete, a sprinter in the 100m, 200m and 4x400m relay.
After O-Levels, his batch was the last to write the exams, his dream was to become a teacher because of his love for children. But financial hardship forced a detour.
“I decided to help myself by going to buy maize and started preparing kenkey to sell at lorry parks and markets in Berekum,” he recalled.
According to him, the people from Berekum know this story. “I can make all types of kenkey, Fante Kenkey, Ga Komi and others. Don’t be surprised to see Kofi Sarpong Kenkey one day.” The proceeds paid his upkeep.
For this reason, he advised the youth “Don’t see life as a smooth journey but find something prudent to do to help yourself in difficult times.”
After grinding his education to a halt due to financial challenges, he now holds a Degree in Public Administration from GIMPA, a Master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy and Project Management, plus other higher certificates, with more in the offing.
The Police Call
When teaching did not materialise immediately, he moved to stay with his father at Osu, Accra. In 1994, he visited former IGP Nana Owusu-Nsia at Police Headquarters, who told about ongoing police enlistment.
In his head he declined, but outwardly he accepted to try reluctantly. Later, watching TV news and seeing long queues of young people aspiring to join the Police, he was inspired to reconsider.
He went to Berekum for his certificate. Accra enlistment had closed, so he joined the Kumasi exercise. He was selected, passed the exams and went to the Koforidua Police Training School, Galloway. After passing out, he was posted to the Logistics Unit at Police Headquarters.
At Headquarters, a senior officer encouraged young constables to further their education. He took a course in Purchasing and Supply via distance learning from a UK institution. 
Upon completion, the Police administration promoted him from Constable Class One to Chief Inspector, a leap that paved the way for him to enrol at the Police Academy. He graduated as ASP, and the climb to DCOP began.
“The officer corps starts from Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) from the cadet,” he explained. “When you graduate from the Police Academy, you are awarded ASP, and you move to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), that’s when I released album to start my music career professionally.”
From there, he rose to Superintendent of Police (SP), Chief Superintendent, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), and now Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP). Next is Commissioner of Police (COP).
Music found him in Sudan
On peacekeeping duty in Sudan, officers from different nations came together to hold fellowship led by a Nigerian officer. In December that year, with top-ranked officers present, Kofi Sarpong led the service to the admiration of all.
On his return to Ghana, a Colonel, who was a Matron at 37 Military Hospital and a member of the 37 Methodist-Presbyterian Church invited him to their harvest service. He ministered, and as he stepped out of church, a man approached him with an offer to record him. He declined.
Days later, at the office, the man, Ernest Kwesi, who owned Media Excel Production sent an elderly man to pursue him. He still declined. This compelled Ernest Kwesi himself to visit him at the office. “He told me he had seen something in me.”
Just after Ernest Kwesi left,Kofi Sarpong wrote to then Director General/Welfare, Mohammed Alhassan, and Paul Tawiah Quaye the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the time. “He opened the letter and said he had been waiting all this while because he had seen me perform at police officers’ events.”
He was summoned to the IGP’s office, a call which scared him, however, it was a good news; his request was approved. Against this backdrop, he informed Ernest Kwesi who quickly visited that evening with highlife musician Akwaboah Jnr., who taught him his first song, ‘Me ko nso hw3 mu’, and they went to the studio.
A song earlier recorded in reggae by Zapp Mallet was totally transformed by Nacee, so they released both versions on the album. Nacee, he says, hugely supported promotion, as did Mark Okraku-Mantey.
He also acknowledge Oware Jnr. who also wrote songs for him.
After his maiden album’s success, police leadership congratulated him. He says he is happy to have inspired other officers to write to the Service to pursue other interests.
An autobiography, he reveals, is in the offing.
Family and food
He is married to Mrs Salomey Sarpong with three children, two boys and a girl: Nana Nketiah, Maame Afia Yeboah Sarpong and Papa Kwabena Aseda Sarpong.
His hobbies are watching athletics and being with family. His favourite foods are fufu and konkonte with groundnut soup.
On music, he teased a collaboration with a top Nigerian artiste, promising fans “hot praises” soon.
He concluded by thanking Ghanaians for their support since his promotion, and thanked the Inspector General of Police for his guidance.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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WHEN some of her pupils failed to show up at school, Mary Adotei did not always assume they were absent. Sometimes, she went looking for them.
In the communities where she taught, getting a child into the classroom could require more than preparing lessons. Mrs Adotei remembers occasions when she had to visit the homes of pupils, bathe them, prepare them and bring them to school herself.
“There were times I had to go to the homes of some of the children, bathe them and bring them to school,” she recalled.
It is a memory that captures much of her journey over the years as a teacher, a profession she entered without knowing it would become central to her identity.
Now, after years of working with children and communities, Mrs Adotei is taking lessons from the classroom into a new arena.
She is contesting the position of Women’s Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (AOB) Constituency in the Central Region, hoping to use her experience working with people to contribute to the welfare of women in the constituency.
But her story begins in the classroom.
After completing her basic and secondary education, Mrs Adotei spent 12 years working as a pupil teacher before she had the opportunity to receive professional training.
In 2006, she entered Fosu College of Education and completed her training in 2011 with a Diploma in Basic Education.
She returned to the classroom and has remained there since, teaching in different communities before moving to her current school, Catholic Boys Basic School in Breman Asikuma, in 2019.
The years have given her a front-row seat to the transformation education can bring.
Some of the children she once taught have grown into professionals, carrying the lessons they learnt in her classroom into hospitals, schools, offices and other workplaces.
Mrs Adotei said she had encountered former pupils who were now doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer.
For a teacher, she said, such moments bring a special kind of satisfaction and reinforce the reason she remains passionate about education.
Her journey, however, has not been without difficult moments.
Teaching in local communities sometimes meant dealing with circumstances that went beyond academic work. Some pupils needed encouragement, personal attention and practical help before they could even settle down to learn.
Those experiences taught her that the challenges confronting people cannot always be solved from a distance. That understanding has followed her into her political activities.
Mrs Adotei has been involved in the NDC for years and previously served as a branch treasurer. She has also supported women in her branch, including assisting some to access medical treatment and providing help to families when the need arose.
She is now making her third attempt at becoming the constituency’s Women’s Organiser.
Her motivation is linked to what she has seen around her.
Mrs Adotei wants women in the constituency to have access to skills and opportunities that can help them become more economically independent.
She believes her years as a teacher have prepared her for the work, too, because the profession has taught her to listen, communicate, understand different circumstances and work patiently with people.
For her, the transition from teacher to political organiser is therefore not a complete departure from the path she has followed.
The classroom taught her to work with individuals. Politics, she hopes, will give her the opportunity to work with a wider group of women.
If elected, Mrs Adotei intends to continue teaching while taking up her political responsibilities. She said she would organise her time to attend meetings and constituency activities without abandoning her duties to her pupils.
Away from school and politics, she is a wife and mother of two sons who are pursuing their degrees at university.
Her message to young girls is shaped by everything she has seen education do for the children she has taught.
For Mrs Adotei, education remains one of the strongest tools available to young people, especially girls seeking to build better futures.
She wants them to stay in school, pursue further education and acquire skills that will prepare them for the future.
“Nowadays, you cannot go forward without education,” she said.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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