Support College of Health Sciences to train Specialists

Monday, May 24, 2010

A CALL has been made to institutions in private and public sectors as well as individuals to support the College of Health Sciences to provide specialist training locally.
The Chairman of the College of Health Sciences Postgraduate Endowment Fund, Mr Sam Okudzeto, who made the call in Accra yesterday said specialist training locally was important because it had become clear that there was danger in travelling abroad for medical attention as a result of the distance involved and the possibility of complications along the route.
Speaking at the launch of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the College of Health Sciences in Accra, Mr Okudzeto, who is also a renowned legal practitioner, cited cases of the death of some people he described as some best brains to buttress his point.
The event was also used to encourage institutions, groups and individuals to contribute to the endowment fund to support post graduate training locally.
Mr Okudzeto said personalities, including the late President Dr Hilla Limann, the late Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the late Major Courage Quashiga (retd) and the late presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP), Dan Lartey, went abroad for medical treatment but to no avail.
He said there was no doubt that non-communicable diseases such as stroke and diabetes, which, he observed, were a threat to chief executives could be controlled if sufficient professionals were trained in specialised fields.
Mr Okudzeto pointed out that “if we are able to help our health institutions we can get the best health care services without necessarily travelling outside. The rampant death of our best brains can be reduced if we support this worthy cause, ” he said.
Mr Okudzeto explained that the danger in travelling abroad for medical attention was that one might die midway because of the distance involved and went on to ask that “besides, what happens in emergency situations along the route?”.
He said the fund which was instituted in 2000, was expected to support post-graduate students through provision of scholarships and award of research grants for M.Phil. and PhD research projects.
He said if enough funds were raised, lecturers, professors and deans would also be supported to acquire additional knowledge elsewhere.
For his part, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, said the establishment of the college 10 years ago was a significant landmark in the development of the University of Ghana after several years of hard work.
He noted that with the collective strength of its constituents, which were the Medical and Dental school, school of Nursing, Allied Health Science and Public Health as well as the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the college had “finally come to the attention of the world”.
He hinted that a new University of Ghana Act was currently receiving attention by the government and that the university council was also in the process of enacting new statutes.
The Provost of the College, Professor A.L. Lawson, said the challenges of the college were many, including limited budgetary support, poor infrastructure, ageing faculty and inadequate capacity for research.
He said in trying to address those challenges, the college was developing its second strategic plan, embracing the liberation of the college legally, financial empowerment, establishment of a human resource framework, infrastructure expansion and modernisation as well as the development of new activities to compete for growth.
The anniversary was formally launched by the Deputy Managing Director of Ghana Reinsurance Company, Mr Gustav Siale, who contributed GH¢5,000 on behalf of his organisation to the endowment fund.