Prez Akufo-Addo pledges to equip health educational institutions
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated his resolve to equip health educational institutions to train more doctors and other allied personnel to enhance delivery.
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Expressing concern about the country's alarming ratio of one doctor to 8,000 patients, the President described it as woefully inadequate and unacceptable.
He said the situation was even more lopsided in the rural and deprived communities, and underscored the need for urgent steps to reverse the trend in the shortest possible time.
President Akufo-Addo was speaking at the first session of the 50th congregation of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and fifth oath swearing and induction of 54 newly graduated doctors of the university’s Medical Sciences (UCCSMS) last Saturday.
Don't blame doctors
He noted that it was not surprising that doctors had failed to readily accept postings to the rural areas.
"If we have road networks, and good schools are available around the country not only in the urban centres, if we have electricity supply in all communities, we would not have to ask the doctors to go to work in the rural communities...," he added.
President Akufo-Addo with the newly inducted doctors
Until those facilities were provided, President Akufo-Addo called on doctors to do a little bit more out of the ordinary, to bring relief to the situation and accept postings to rural and deprived communities.
He called for intensified education and good advocacy roles on health and sanitation practices to reduce preventable diseases, stressing that it took better sanitation and not better medication to deal with some of the major health issues bedevilling the health sector.
Challenges
The President made reference to the child mortality gap between the rich and poor and the neglect of mental health, as some of the challenges of the health sector, saying the government would ensure those difficulties were tackled.
He said the government would work to complete projects to expand access to health services for all.
President Akufo-Addo also asked the tertiary institutions not to enter into major financial agreements on the blind side of government.
He said any loan contractual agreement to be entered into, should be done with approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department to avoid unnecessary wranglings.
He said the government was aware that the university was entering into a build operate and transfer (BOT) arrangement with a Canadian group to build infrastructure for the school and added that while such arrangements and initiatives were commendable, they should not be done without the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
UG example
President Akufo-Addo said the wrangling at the University of Ghana following one such arrangement, should provide useful lessons for all public tertiary institutions.
He promised that the government would continue to ensure cash flow for the development of infrastructure in the health sector, while creating a conducive environment for the health and allied institutions to produce highly qualified personnel.
Advice to graduates
The Chancellor of the UCC, Sir Sam Jonah, appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, give financial clearance for the recruitment of adequate teaching and non-teaching staff.
He noted that government’s funding of the university had been inadequate while its internally generated funds had become the lifeline providing critical infrastructure and other resources required for effective teaching, research and operations of the university.
He appealed to the President to review the government's directive to the universities to contribute 34 per cent of their internally generated funds to the Consolidated Fund, saying it was discouraging and could stifle creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Sir Jonah also asked for the retirement age of faculty members to be revisited, saying members who had attained high level intellectual maturity and who could mentor younger ones were being lost to the private tertiary institutions.
Vice Chancellor
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The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, said the graduation of 54 doctors brought to 243 the number of doctors who had graduated from the UCCSMS since 2013.
In a valedictory address, Dr Marcia Afriyie Agyemang pledged on behalf of her colleagues, to work to better the health service delivery in the country.
Dr Peter Lawer Apokyi was the best graduating doctor and received eight awards.