Courtesy Photo | ACCRA, Ghana (Aug. 5, 2025) Instructors and students with Navy Medicine’s 2025...... read more read more
ACCRA, Ghana – Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) EURAFCENT, in partnership with the Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command (NMLPDC), hosted a two-week field mission as part of Navy Medicine’s annual Military Tropical Medicine (MTM) course for 15 U.S. military physicians and healthcare professionals from August 4–16.
This 2025 MTM course, hosted by Lt. Cmdr. Robert Hontz, director of NAMRU EURAFCENT’s Ghana Detachment, and organized by Lt. Cmdr. Terrel Sanders, from NMLPDC, offered U.S. military medical personnel an immersive training experience focused on tropical infectious diseases and the unique aspects of the Ghanaian healthcare system.
As part of the mission, MTM course participants toured hospitals, clinics and community health centers across Accra and Kumasi, where they observed local clinical and diagnostic practices, gaining valuable firsthand insight into healthcare delivery in West Africa.
Hontz and Sanders, supported by locally engaged staff and established in-country partnerships, coordinated access to nearly twenty hospitals, clinics and small community medical centers in Accra and Kumasi. These included the West African Rescue Association Hospital, Franklyn Medical Centre, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, University of Ghana Medical Centre, Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services at Burma Camp, the 37 Military Hospital and other institutions in the Ashanti region, such as the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.
During these visits, MTM participants engaged with subject-matter experts across multiple disciplines, gaining critical insight into diseases of military relevance, including cholera, antimicrobial resistant organisms, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as trauma care, diagnostic tools, life support and resuscitation techniques and emergency medical response in resource-limited settings.
“This course provided a fantastic opportunity for military healthcare professionals to receive hands-on experience and exposure to tropical diseases of military importance,” said Hontz. “The MTM students who participated in this mission are now better equipped to care for our military members in remote environments.”
“By fostering firsthand knowledge of tropical infectious diseases that threaten force health protection, this course ensures military medical professionals are prepared to safeguard operational readiness and resilience worldwide,” Hontz added.
Although these efforts are not tied to a specific research project, NAMRU EURAFCENT’s involvement in coordinating site visits and leveraging connections with local clinics is essential to making the field MTM training possible.
Beyond facilitating the course, this engagement directly supports the command’s broader mission to conduct research, lead disease surveillance and provide operational support to U.S. military forces across the region. The MTM program advances strategic objectives by training and equipping military medical providers to deliver high-quality care in austere environments.
NAMRU EURAFCENT, part of Navy Medicine Research & Development, conducts research, surveillance and studies of vaccines, therapeutic agents, diagnostic assays and vector control measures in the EUCOM, AFRICOM and CENTCOM Areas of Responsibility to better prevent and treat infectious diseases in support of Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighter health, readiness and lethality.
| Date Taken: | 09.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.25.2025 12:55 |
| Story ID: | 549308 |
| Location: | GH |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Advancing Operational and Medical Preparedness: U.S. Military Tropical Medicine Field Mission in Ghana, by Diana Naranjo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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