The University of Michigan has long-standing relationships with many institutions in Ghana. Among the earliest faculty members to establish collaborations there was Professor of Ob-Gyn Chair Dr. Timothy Johnson, who helped establish an in-country post-graduate training program for Obstetrician/Gynecologists at the University of Ghana and the  University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. To date, the program has produced more than 150 graduates, nearly all of whom still practice or hold leadership positions in Ghana, and the program has become a model for similar training initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Partnerships have since expanded to other institutions, including the University of Cape Coast and Family Health Medical School, and other disciplines. The UMMS Otolaryngology, Emergency Medicine, Ophthalmology, and Psychiatry departments all have active partnerships in Ghana.