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‘Varsity, industry collaboration key to national development’
To manufacture vaccines particularly COVID- 19 products requires huge doses of investment, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Prof. John Owusu Gyapong, has said.
He has established also the critical relationship between science and vaccine development.
Prof. Gyapong made the argument when he delivered a talk on ‘Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on higher education in Ghana: Threats and Opportunities’ at the just -ended 2021University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) Congress at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT),Tarkwa, in the Western Region.
He said, scientists in the universities needed huge investmnts to conduct researches for products,noting that, the United States of America spent huge dollars in such a venture.
This,he explained involved series of trials in communities to erase all reasonable doubts.
Again, Prof. Gyapong said, there was the need to provide protection to the communities,stressing “it’s about billion of dollars.”
To achieve this goal, he encouraged universities in Ghana to collaborate with one another in their research work in this era of science, in order to make the needed impact in the country.
“Many of us like to work in our small corners but this requires that we work together through consortia across the world and even in this country, there is no reason universities should not work closer”. he said.
Prof.Gyapong stated that the COVID-19 pandemic should be a wake -up call for research capabilities, science, technology and innovation systems, manufacturing capabilities, inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration through existing consortia.
He said, “Despite innovations made in some universities the scale of collaboration with the industry that takes headline-making innovation beyond the walls of an institution, is conspicuously missing.
“This can provide an opportunity for further validation and a path to widespread adoption and commercialisation.” he told the delegates.
The UHAS Vice Chancellor explained that “When the pandemic broke in Ghana, we met leaders in the educational sector and they gave us all the promises but when the rubber hit the road, we were found wanting.
“We could have thrown our hands in the air and said, we don’t have it, so that is the end.But as university managers, administrators and academia, we have to do the teaching — to get things going.The digital dividehad been a very key transformational issue when it comes to managing COVID in the educational environment.”
According to Prof.Gyapong”even in the event that the COVID-19 pandemic should end, with the kind of infrastructure that we have developed, it would be very unwise to throw away all the online teaching platforms.This requires very good and effective policy.
“The policies that l have seen are not good enough and we need to collaborate as institutions to ensure that we are on top of the issues. Since we are the knowledge hub we can take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to develop science and make sure that we are on top of issues.”
Funding of research in universities, he believed, should not just be a talk it should be materialised and hoped that national research fund would be operationalised so hat researhers can access monies for research across various disciplines.
“The pandemic has really brought a major challenge to the educational institutions. We need to examine and re- consider how we would manage our digital educational system because it is now becoming part of us”
From Clement Adzei Boye, Tarkwa
Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie, the Member of Parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has assured the Accra Street Academy of his support in achieving its mission of uplifting vulnerable children within the community to break the cycle of poverty. “Without the needed support, your efforts may go round in circles due to the enormity of the task. This should not be left on the shoulders of the Academy alone. You need support from both government and the private sector. With that, the Academy would be in a good position to shape the future of these children on the streets,” he said.
The Accra Street Academy, originally formed in 1985 as a boxing arena, now serves as a school for deprived children, with most of its population numbering hundreds of pupils being neglected children from the streets of Jamestown and its environs. Mr. Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie made these remarks at the annual stakeholders’ meeting and fundraising event held over the weekend under the theme “Empowering Street Children: Health and Wellness.” The event is one of the Academy’s annual programmes, organized to raise funds and other forms of support to aid the school in catering to the needs of the children and holding its Christmas get-together.
According to the MP, it is worth noting that these children are taught and provided with two meals and a snack daily through the support of benevolent members of society. In view of this, he promised to facilitate the acquisition of documents needed for the construction of an Astroturf within the school’s premises. He noted that “every child has the right to play, and therefore I pledged to do my best to secure the needed documents” for the project to commence.
The legislator disclosed that over the years, the academic programmes of the Accra Street Academy have transformed children surviving on the streets into successful adults. He therefore urged other members of society to partner with the school to “help pupils rise higher for a better Ghana.” In the 2025/26 academic year, 22 pupils were absorbed by the Accra Metro Education Directorate as they transitioned into various Junior High Schools, while still returning to the Accra Street Academy for academic support.
Ms. Yvonne Abba-Opoku, a chartered governance advisor and senior executive in the nonprofit and charity sector, stated that the best gift to give a child was education.
By Spectator Reporter
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Mrs Regina Kudom, Senior Midwifery Officer at the New Atuabo Health Centre in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality, has urged expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinic regularly for safe delivery.
She revealed that “in Tarkwa and its environs many pregnant women prefer staying at prayer camps, we are not against that, you can be there, but when your time is up for your antenatal session make sure you attend.”
Mrs Kudom gave the advice when the Gold Fields Ghana Foundation (GFGF) observed the World Prematurity Day with pregnant women at New Atuabo, Huniso and Awudua health centres.
World Prematurity Day falls on November 17, every year, and it is celebrated to raise awareness about the challenges faced by pre-term babies and their families.
She said research suggested that sex during pregnancy could soften the cervix and potentially aid in labour preparation.
“That is the reason why we encourage pregnant women to have sex with their partners, if they do not have any health implications,” she added.
Mrs Kudom appealed to the GFGF to upgrade the New Atuabo health centre as the current structure was too small because they received many patients daily.
Madam Ayishetu Mohammed, Project Coordinator for GFGF, explained that they received donations from Project C. U. R. E and the items were given to health facilities in their operational area.
She stated that they noticed there were baby dresses, sanitary pads, and baby apparel, so they decided to distribute them among expectant mothers in three of their host communities.
Madam Mohammed said because the foundation was interested in preventive care, they brought a midwife from the Tarkwa Mine hospital to educate the pregnant women.
She extolled the midwives in New Atuabo health centre for the education they gave to the pregnant women and implored them to heed to the advice given during antenatal visits to reduce maternal deaths in the Tarkwa Nsuaem and Prestea Huni-Valley Municipalities.
Mr Paa Kwasi Egan, Deputy Chief Physician Assistance, emphasised that a pregnant woman being anemic meant she was not eating a balance diet, and added that, “Some of these women do not have money to buy food or visit antenatal clinics.”
He said when men follow their wives for antenatal visits, they would be educated extensively on why they should provide funds for their pregnant wives.
Mr Egan, therefore, encouraged all men to be involved in their pregnant wives’ antenatal care appointments so they could learn more about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. – GNA
