The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has held its 10th Congregation, graduating 1,374 students, comprising undergraduates and postgraduates from its various schools.
The figure amounts to some 11,000 health professionals trained by the school since its inaugural graduation in 2016.
The graduating class comprises 1310 undergraduates, 34 postgraduates, and the first cohort of 30 participants in the Oncology Nurse Leadership Programme (ONLET) in Africa, under a collaboration between UHAS, the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC), City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), and AMGEN.
Saturday’s congregation was on the theme, “Collaborating Across Disciplines and Borders, Transforming Health, Achieving the SDGs.”
Emeritus Professor Marcel Tanner, former Director of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), who was the guest speaker, said the culture of science and of public health action must be based on a negotiated partnership focusing on the next generation, while decolonising systems.
He said the principles and processes that guarantee the spirit and attitudes of mutual learning for change must include adherence to ethical and scientific standards, competence and expertise for real-life application to strengthen the next generation, sensitivity to context, equity and diversity, as well as strengthened communication skills.
The expert underscored the need for community effectiveness to overcome heterogeneities and reduce inequalities by mainstreaming access, targeting accurate compliance and consumer adherence.
He discounted the notion that ‘one size fits all’ and called for integrating approaches tailored to socio-cultural, socio-ecological, and economic contexts with public health approaches to promote inclusivity.
He called for developing and refining the research agenda for the SDGs, especially for goals 3, 4, 6, 8, and 17, to lay the basis for equitable and effective health interventions.
“It is not about creating great things, but mainly about seeing and doing the ordinary things with the conviction, appreciation and joy of and for their basic intrinsic values…” Prof Tanner added.
Professor Kodzo Gavua, Chairman of the University Council, said the university would continue to produce world-class graduates equipped with clinical competencies, integrity, and professional ethics.
He said since its first graduation in 2016, UHAS has trained over 11,000 health professionals serving Ghana and other countries.
He urged the graduating class to make a difference in the world, inspire future health professionals, and serve as ambassadors of UHAS.
The Council Chairman appealed to the Ministry of Finance to release funds for expeditious completion of ongoing projects, including the 5.3km internal roads at the Ho campus, the Central Laboratory Complex, and the Fodome Campus near Hohoe, in view of the rising student population.
He emphasised the importance of lifelong learning and adapting to challenges in the evolving healthcare sector.
Prof Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of UHAS, reminded the graduands to stay abreast with emerging trends and innovations to become leaders and health professionals for the country and the world at large.
“Be guided by UHAS ethos and values of excellence, integrity, innovation, service and care to be the ethical foundation upon which your profession must stand.”
On academic programmes, she said the University currently runs 23 undergraduate programmes across eight Schools, namely The Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, School of Pharmacy, and School of Medicine, School of Allied Health Sciences, School of Sports and Exercise Medicine, as well as School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Additionally, she said postgraduate programmes increased from 14 to 26 during the period, with the introduction of the Sandwich option for the MPhil programmes in Nursing and Midwifery, which enrolled 30 students in each programme for the year.
Prof Aziato said the School of Graduate Studies had launched the student engagement series to improve mentorship, research supervision, and academic writing skills of graduate students, in addition to establishing a research support unit.
She disclosed that 10 programmes were introduced during the 2024/2025 academic year including MPhil Pharmacognosy, Ph.D in Toxicology, MPhil/Ph.D and MPhil in Midwifery with the Institute of Traditional and Alternative Medicine introduced a Professional Practice Course (PPC) for practitioners with other various programmes at stages of approval.
The Vice Chancellor indicated that only 2,794 applicants were enrolled for the 2024/2025 academic year, out of 3,859 offered admissions, after receiving 14,827 applications.
She said the staff strength of UHAS currently stood at 879, with 25 voluntary service persons engaged for a year due to their inability to obtain financial clearance to employ, and described the University’s infrastructure as a work in progress.
Mr James Gunu, Volta Regional Minister, who graced the 10th congregation, said the theme captured the direction the health sector must continue to take.
Reacting to the Council Chair and Vice Chancellor’s requests, he assured the University, on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, that the government had taken note of all their challenges and that the necessary steps would be taken to address them.
The James Gunu Prize for the Overall Outstanding Graduating Student in Nursing was awarded to Mr Mustapha Mohammed for his outstanding accomplishments.
