The registrar of the Allied Health Professionals Council (AHPC), Dr. Samuel Yaw Opoku, has called on the government to set up an Allied Health College in order to help graduates of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) further their education after their undergraduate courses.
He stated, “There is the urgent need to establish an Allied Health College to provide the opportunity to individuals to develop themselves professionally and specialize in various disciplines to enable them to offer the needed health care to the population.”
He stressed that this initiative will not only help give graduates from UHAS the adequate training they need to serve the country but will also relieve pressure off other health colleges in the country.
He was speaking at the induction and oath swearing ceremony of Allied Health Graduates in Accra under the theme, “Effective Management of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of the Allied Health Professional.”
The ceremony saw the induction of 510 graduates under five professions.
The Bachelor (Bsc.) of Health Information programme graduated 213 individuals, Bsc. of Dietetics 143 graduates , Bsc. of Nutrition 140 graduates , Bsc. of Occupational Therapy, seven graduates and Bsc. in Respirational Therapy producing seven graduates.
Present at the event, the Country Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Francis Kasolo, stressed on the importance of Allied Health Professionals in the fight against Covid-19.
He stated, “It is undeniable that allied health professionals have played a very big role in the Covid-19 response and have provided support to areas like health prevention, management, and rehabilitation of covid-19 patients.”
He further explained that the activities of Allied Health Professionals in the country have helped in identifying Covid-19 obstacles, which has seen to the implementation of interventions that have stalled the spread of the virus.
He therefore encouraged the graduates to keep up with the standard and reiterated the WHO’s willingness to continually provide support to the AHPC.
Chairman of the event, Prof. Augustine Kwame Kyere, encouraged the graduates to serve in different parts of the country, most especially rural areas, irrespective of their personal preferences.
He stressed to the students, “I am not neglecting that there are a few setbacks in some areas, but if you do not go there who will go there?”
He, however, called on the government to make rural areas more hospitable for graduates as this would encourage more of them to serve in those regions.
By Abigail Adeyemi