Media

Juliana was born in Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Between 1956 and 1964, she attended the Roman Catholic Primary and Local Authority Middle Schools at Agortime-Kpetoe in the Volta Region. She had her secondary education at OLA Girls Senior High School (Ho) in Ho, the capital of the Volta Region, where she obtained the GCE Ordinary Level in 1969. She proceeded to the United Kingdom, where she trained at the Ipswich East Anglia School of Nursing at Ipswich, Suffolk. She qualified in August 1973 as a state-registered nurse. A year later, she trained in midwifery at Saint Peter’s Hospital at Chertsey in Surrey, graduating in August 1975 as a state-certified midwife. She enrolled at the University of Birmingham for postgraduate studies, leading to her obtaining an MSc in Health Management and Administration in October 1997.

Azumah-Mensah started work as a clerical officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in 1969. She left for further studies in the UK after a year. She then worked as a nurse and midwife at various hospitals in the UK. She moved to Saudi Arabia, where she worked at the King Abdulaziz University Hospital between 1978 and 1984. She returned to the UK, working at the Mayday University Hospital between 1984 and 1987. She returned to Ghana in 1988 and worked for two years as the principal nurse in the Ho Diocese. Between 2001 and 2005, she worked with the Catholic Health Services. She was stationed at Ho, where she served as the Executive Secretary/Director of Health Services of the Ho Diocese and the Regional Coordinating Director. Juliana Azumah-Mensah was first elected Member of Parliament for the Ho East Constituency in the 2004 parliamentary election and took her seat in January 2005. She retained her seat in the 2008 election and was first appointed by as Minister for Tourism in 2009 and was shifted to Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs in January 2010, until 2012.

A longtime FHI supporter, Juliana said she first engaged with the FHI in 2013. “Over time, I’ve learned how FHI’s unique model of making change takes into account the robust menu of support that grassroots organizations need to promote the well-being of humanity by finding and scaling solutions to reduce poverty and injustice and reverse the climate crisis,” she added. Contributing to a board that is so fully invested in this model resonates with my professional work to contribute to humanity.

Juliana works as a board member at the Humanitarian Development and Relief Services, where her strategic leadership has been instrumental in advancing systemic approaches to addressing poverty and frighting climate change  

Prior to her tenure at the Humanitarian Development and Relief Services, she has held key roles at the La-Palm Foundation, UK, where she engaged executives of public and private firms in systematic thinking about health and health care, and at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, where she built a groundbreaking diversity department dedicated to advancing language access and health equity.  

Juliana, who joined the FHI Board in 2013, plans to lean into her expertise in future thinking and strategic planning to tackle the challenges ahead, from engaging new supporters to diversifying the Board to implementing FHI’s five-year strategic plan.  

For media queries or to organise a media interview contact Eric Boakye, Media Relations Manager, Future Hope International (FHI), at ericboakye@futurehopegh.org