Dr Akoyirea receiving his award

In a ceremony attended by global development leaders, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae-Myung, presented him with the Diplomatic Service Medal for his outstanding and meritorious service in promoting friendly relations between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Ghana.

Dr Akoriyea (second right) being decorated with the award

Dr. Akoriyea is widely recognised as one of Ghana’s most distinguished health administrators, an accomplished clinician, systems thinker, and reform-focused leader with more than two decades of service.
His career spans major national roles including Director of Institutional Care, Clinical Auditor/deputy director National Ambulance Service and currently, Acting Director-General of the Ghana Health Service.
He has led high-impact reforms in emergency and critical care, hospital management, patient safety, biomedical engineering, and health infrastructure expansion. His work has consistently strengthened Ghana’s capacity to deliver quality, equitable, and people-centred healthcare. Internationally, he is known for championing global health security, second Vice President of Neurosurgery in West Africa, digital health governance, and cross-country cooperation.

A particularly notable milestone in his career was his instrumental role in establishing the KOFIH partnership in Ghana during his tenure as Director of the Institutional Care Division of the Ghana Health Service. His foresight and diplomatic engagement paved the way for the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) to establish its Ghana Country Office, now one of the most robust platforms for bilateral health cooperation.

Over the years, KOFIH has delivered flagship interventions that continue to transform Ghana’s health landscape. These include maternal and newborn health improvement programmes, capacity-building for biomedical engineers and clinical staff, support for Emergency Medical Services development, disability friendly institutions and initiatives to strengthen disease surveillance, laboratory systems, and hospital management. Through these interventions, Ghana has benefitted from enhanced skills, better service delivery, and strengthened system resilience; outcomes rooted in the collaborative foundation Dr. Akoriyea helped build.

At the same time, Dr. Akoriyea has been a strong supporter of KOICA’s development efforts in Ghana, working closely with the Agency to advance health systems strengthening, public health capacity-building, WASH in health facilities, digital innovation, and community-level health improvement programmes.

His openness to collaboration and his ability to align national priorities with development opportunities have helped both KOFIH and KOICA deepen their impact in Ghana’s health sector and beyond.

Dr. Akoriyea’s honour in Korea is, therefore, a reflection of Ghana’s growing leadership in global health diplomacy. His career embodies the spirit of shared progress and the 2025 Development Cooperation Day theme, “a commitment to working together for global prosperity’’. His vision continues to guide Ghana toward a more resilient, innovative, and internationally connected health system.

The Ghana Health Service proudly congratulates Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea on this well-deserved global recognition and salutes his outstanding contributions to national and global health advancement.