President Mahama declares Volta Regional Hospital a teaching hospital
President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday directed the Ministry of Health to declare the Volta Regional Hospital a Teaching Hospital.
He said government was upgrading facilities at the hospital to that status as part of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).
President Mahama gave the directive when he officially commissioned the permanent site of the University at Sokode-Lokoe, near Ho.
He was hopeful the upgrading of the Regional Hospital into a Teaching Hospital would enhance quality training of health professionals at the UHAS and improve healthcare delivery in the region.
The University was funded by the Chinese government with 17 million dollars with counterpart funding from the Government of Ghana.
It occupies 10,386 square meters and has a faculty area, student hostel and staff bungalows.
The site has eleven buildings, parking lots and other ancillary facilities.
President Mahama commended the Chinese Government for making the “vision statement” and a “budding idea” of late President John Evans Atta Mills a reality, saying, it has cemented the relationship between the two countries.
President Mahama commended the University for achieving laurels in its first three years of existence and congratulated the University Council, Implementing and Planning Committees for putting UHAS on a good footing.
He pledged the readiness of his government to nurture UHAS to become the best in Africa in 10 years.
President Mahama also assured landowners of plans to settle issues concerning compensations.
The land owners had threatened to block the commissioning in protest against non -payment of compensation for its acquisition by government.
Madam Sun Baohong, Chinese Ambassador to Ghana said education was uppermost in the bilateral relations between her country and Ghana.
She said China was happy to be associated with UHAS and promised to provide furniture for the University.
Madam Baohong said the Chinese embassy had issued over 1,000 study visas to self-sponsoring Ghanaian students.
She said the value of China-Ghana bilateral relations exceeded five billion US Dollar in the first quarter of 2015.
Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, Minister of Education said the commissioning of UHAS marked another milestone in the provision of quality education in Ghana.
She said plans were underway to make vocational and technical educational attractive to young people.
Prof. Fred Binka, Vice Chancellor of UHAS said the University was started in 2012 with five schools, 154 students but now has 2,044 students.
He said the University’s mission and vision were driving it to achieve national and international laurels.
Prof. Binka said the University was facing funding challenges and appealed to government to grant special dispensation to newly established public universities, so they could engage lecturers for programmes.
UHAS the only public university in the Volta region was established by an Act of Parliament ACT 828 of December 2011.
Its main campus is at Sokode-Lokoe and another at Hohoe for the School of Public Health
Source: GNA