15 Egyptian doctors in to support their Ghanaian counterparts
Fifteen Egyptian medical doctors have arrived in the country to assist their Ghanaian counterparts to provide medical care for Ghanaians.
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Under a new partnership arrangement with the Egyptian Agency of Partnership, 30 Egyptian doctors are expected in the country to serve for two weeks.
The first batch of surgical consultants, dentists, a urologist, a pulmonologist, a gynaecologist, a microbiologist and a cardiologist are to be deployed to government hospitals in Yendi, Tamale, Ho and Cape Coast.
The second batch, which will be sent to other health facilities, will arrive in the country in a couple of weeks.
“Appreciate foreign doctors”
At the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to welcome the doctors last Saturday, Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, explained that the doctors would complement the efforts of their Ghanaian counterparts to provide needed healthcare services for people across the country.
He said the request for foreign doctors was not new, emphasising that “we will continue to bring in foreign doctors to assist our doctors”.
Mr Segbefia further stated that just as Ghanaian doctors visited other countries to offer their expertise, Ghana would continue to request for foreign doctors to support the health sector.
With the establishment of new hospitals and expansion on some existing ones, the minister said Ghana would need the assistance of foreign doctors from time to time to run the various hospitals due to the shortfall in the doctor / patient ratio.
According to the 2012 annual report on the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda(2010 – 2013), the country’s doctor-patient ratio is one doctor to 10,452.
Mr Segbefia said it was about time the people appreciated the efforts of doctors, including the foreign ones who had voluntarily offered their support to healthcare delivery in rural communities over the years.
The Egyptian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Mohammed Heider, said it was an opportunity for the Egyptian doctors to also explore and learn from their counterparts in Ghana.
The initiative, he said, was to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in the health sector.