Benedict Weobong is a Senior Lecturer in Social and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, and a Global Mental Health Epidemiologist.

My work in the past 14 years has been informed by the principles of global (mental) health along three strands, tied together through the innovative use of task-sharing strategies in Low- and Middle- Income settings.  I have specific expertise in psychological treatment development and evaluation, having worked on the PREMIUM Healthy Activity Program (HAP) and Counselling for Alcohol Problems (CAP) Program, and the SHARE Thinking Healthy Program Peer-Delivered (THPP). I also have experience in implementation research and digital health interventions research. I have been awarded grants to a tune of a little over a million USD over my research career till date, and published over 20 refereed academic papers and two book chapters. My research interests are varied and span child development, adolescent health (mental health and addictions), and maternal mental health and well-being.

I am currently actively involved in four research projects of relevance to AdoWA: 1) I am Co-PI and country lead on Phase 2 of a 3 Phase programme of work to develop and evaluate a routine health check-ups intervention targeting adolescents aged 10 to 17 years in Cape Coast, Ghana, in collaboration with WHO and two other African countries (Zimbabwe and Tanzania); 2) I am Co-I and country lead on a four-year NIHR research groups programme to develop a step-up care intervention for the treatment of depression and anxiety among adolescents in senior high schools in Navrongo; 3) I am the country PI on a small grant awarded Edge Hill University, UK, to validate measures for alcohol use disorders and mental health among young people in Navrongo, Ghana; and 4) I’m PI for a 24-month programme of work (multidisciplinary grant from University of Ghana Research Fund) to collect essential formative data to inform the development of a mHealth-based guided self-help psychosocial intervention to promote maternal psychosocial well-being, in collaboration with the Kintampo Health Research Centre.