The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has chalked a critical milestone by commissioning five scientific laboratories and UHAS Bulletin at a short but impressive ceremony.
The laboratories are ZebraFish lab; Graduate Research lab for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences; UHAS Dental Clinic; Imaging Simulation Lab; UHAS Counselling and Wellness Centre as well as launch of the UHAS Bulletin, to become the one-stop mouthpiece of the University’s information architecture to serve its internal and external publics.
Professor Lydia Aziato, the Vice Chancellor of UHAS, said the mission of the University to provide quality education, advance knowledge through scholarship and research, which is expected to improve health and quality of life through community service is gradually coming to light.
She said the collective expectation to become the pre-eminent health research educational institution dedicated to community service is on course and urged stakeholders to keep this reality alive through support.
She said commissioning of five laboratories epitomises hard work from all, deepening their resolve to maintain the status quo.
She disclosed that the imaging simulation lab is the first-of-a-kind facility in the country and the ZebraFish lab, a third after University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, which are expected to contribute to its internally generated fund dispositions.
She acknowledged the effort of the University’s forebears for their vision, which would be upheld and prayed that an excellent service attitude and core-evidence-based care be exhibited at the facilities at all times, while mainstream standards and maintenance culture.
She commended their collaborators, friends of the University, philanthropists and an anonymous provider of a dentistry table for the school for their collective and continued support to uplift the training of students.
Prof Kwame Ohene Buabeng, Dean, School of Pharmacy said the ZebraFish lab offers an unparallel technology and opportunity to enhance research and training and to undertake testing of drug candidate, molecular as well as blood candidates.
He said the concept, which is global technology could be used to model and unlock human disease incidences and undertake toxicological assessment of water resources for its quality and thanked Kinapharma Company for providing them with micro-injectors.
Dr Seth K. Angmorterh, Senior Lecturer, Department of Medical Imaging said the state-of-the-arts imaging simulation lab has the latest imaging technology that would bring positive impact on training and income generating capacities of the department.
He said the simulation hub was funded courtesy the Ghana Skills Development Fund to support skills development for the provision of quality-oriented programming to lessen the burden of having to over-explain concept imaginarily.
Dr Fernando M. A. Acevedo, Acting Dean, School of Dentistry noted that UHAS completes public and private Universities in the country were teaching dentistry but was short to say the numbers being churned out was limited.
He said in extrapolating the population of the country to dentists shows a disturbing 1:50,000 ratio compared to the World Health Organisation (WHO) standing of between 1: 5,000-7,000 saying tooling training institutions was the way to go.
He said in full swing, services would extend to the public to sample some of the state-of-arts services in the facility.
Dr Emmanuel Dziwornu, Head of Department, School of Medicine and Mental Health said the establishment of the Centre was apt to offer psycho-social support services contributing to holistic development of the university community.
He said the Centre is dedicated to promoting mental health and wellbeing by promoting accessible, professional and ethical counselling services to students, staff and community members intended to foster personal growth, resilience and overall psychological wellbeing.
Mr Francis Ahiekpor, CEO, MES Equipment Limited in an address read for him said the Company is notable for the distribution of Medical, Educational, Scientific & Laboratory Equipment in Ghana and have partnered with some of the world’s leading brands to deliver quality equipment.
“We have partnered with the world’s leading brands to bring the best quality home for more than half a century. In addition, we have crafted our own house brands to local quality standards to offer an economic alternative for selected lines,” proud about the UHAS collaboration.
Ms Yaa Amankwa Opuni, the Registrar of the UHAS, who launched the UHAS Bulletin, said the publication is a monthly e-newsletter designed to provide the university community and publics with issues of topical interests, events, institutional performance, celebrate milestones, awards to motivate excellence.
It would also highlight research, alumni updates, current information from the management news from schools and institutions.
Ms Buami commended Togbe Buami IX, the Director of Public Affairs and his team for the initiative.