KNUST Wins $5.1 Million Takeda Award to Build Climate-Resilient Health Systems in Ghana

• KNUST secured a $5.1 million grant from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company's Global CSR Programme for a new health initiative
• The project, called PharmAdapt, will be led by Professor Priscilla Kolibea Mante of KNUST's Department of Pharmacology
• PharmAdapt aims to equip pharmacists across Ghana with tools to tackle health challenges driven by climate change

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has landed a $5.1 million grant from Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to launch a programme that trains pharmacists to tackle the growing health threats posed by climate change in Ghana.

The school announced the news on its official social media page on Monday, September 28, 2026.

The initiative, named PharmAdapt, will be housed within KNUST's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and led by Professor Priscilla Kolibea Mante of the Department of Pharmacology. Professor Edmund Ekuadzi and Professor Samuel Asare-Nkansah will serve as Technical Portfolio Leads on the project.

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PharmAdapt's goals for Ghana's pharmacy workforce

PharmAdapt is designed to prepare pharmacists with the knowledge and practical instruments needed to respond to climate-related health risks, including emergency preparedness, climate-responsive pharmaceutical care and environmentally sustainable pharmacy practices.

Rather than focusing solely on individual training, the project also seeks to develop standards and frameworks that could be embedded into pharmacy practice nationally and eventually scaled across West Africa and beyond.

Professor Mante said pharmacists had long been an underutilised resource in responding to climate-driven health crises.

She stressed that PharmAdapt would address that gap by giving practitioners the systems and skills to contribute meaningfully to climate-resilient healthcare.

KNUST Vice-Chancellor Professor Christian Agyare welcomed the partnership, noting that the project would not only train pharmacists and prepare them for emergencies, but also establish lasting standards that outlive the programme itself.

He added that practical tools developed through PharmAdapt could benefit health systems across the wider region.

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KNUST among 4 global projects backed by Takeda

The $5.1 million award to KNUST forms part of Takeda's 2026 Global CSR Programme, under which the pharmaceutical company committed a combined $22.2 million to four initiatives worldwide.

The other projects span Nepal, Honduras, Peru, Egypt and Lebanon.

KNUST's selection reflects the university's combined strengths in pharmaceutical sciences, health research, workforce development and innovation, and positions Ghana as a leader in addressing the intersection of climate change and public health.

The Facebook post by KNUST is below.

Wesley Girls' makes history

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on Wesley Girls’ High School’s milestone, as 48 former students graduated as medical doctors from KNUST in a single year.

Voice of KNUST described it as the first time a single Ghanaian senior high school had produced 48 doctors in one KNUST graduation year. The achievement has renewed attention on the Cape Coast school’s long-standing academic reputation.

Source: YEN.com.gh