Honorable Dr. Bernice Adiku-Heloo, Member of Parliament for Hohoe constituency, donated a desktop computer with accessories and a laser printer to the School of Public Health (SPH), University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) on 6 May. Mr. George Anni Bansah, Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Hohoe constituency, who led the delegation from the Office of the MP, said this donation marks the beginning of a fruitful relationship, adding that the Office of the MP would explore various avenues through which to continue assisting SPH.
Professor Paul Amuna, Acting Dean of the School of Public Health, expressed profound gratitude and assured the delegation of the University’s readiness for “greater collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure that the citizens of Hohoe benefit fully from the establishment of the School of Public Health in Hohoe.”
Dean Amuna took the opportunity to report on the progress of work on the COVID-19 holding center at the Hohoe Municipal Hospital (HMH) and to appeal for assistance to furnish the completed structure. UHAS has provided the SPH Onchocerciasis Clinical Trials Ward at HMH to the Hospital for use as a holding/isolation facility for health care workers who were earlier exposed to COVID-19 patients, as one of many measures the University has undertaken so far to support government efforts at containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UHAS School of Public Health, which is 81 kilometers away from the University’s main campus and two other UHAS campuses in the regional capital, is a major community health and educational hub and has been very active in COVID-19 containment efforts in the Hohoe area, offering technical expertise and material support to local emergency management efforts. SPH is also providing education on COVID-19 and related public health issues via radio, in partnership with Heritage FM and Lorlonyo FM, Hohoe.
The School accepted an invitation from the Hohoe Municipal Health Directorate (HMHD) to be part of a tri-partite leadership team of the Public Health Emergency Management Committee that was assembled on 16th March 2020 — along with HMHD and the Hohoe Municipal Assembly (HMA). SPH is providing technical support to the Committee, and is also represented by Dean Amuna and Dr. Isaiah Agorinya on HMH’s Technical Advisory Group.
Dr. Nuworzah Kugbey, Lecturer and Clinical Psychologist at SPH, was invited by HMH to provide psychological support to all health care staff and others who were earlier exposed to COVID-19 patients. He is currently providing frontline support to the Health Management Team. In addition, the Ghana Health Service trained 18 SPH student-volunteers, who are now actively engaged in frontline contact tracing activities across the Municipality; and two faculty members, Mr. Amenuvegbe and Ms. Fortress Aku, are providing technical support in contact tracing.
Apart from providing technical expertise, SPH has also given other resources to HMH — including one infrared thermometer for screening and one gallon of hand sanitizer manufactured by the UHAS School of Pharmacy — through a donation of GhC2,000.00 from Dr. Nicholas Opoku’s research fund. The Dean of SPH also donated GhC2,000.00 on behalf of the University to cover the cost of painting the new Case Management Centre, which is 85% complete. Once the COVID-19 pandemic is fully contained, this centre will be designated an Infectious Disease Management Centre.
Mr. Randy Daniel Siaku, Secretary to the Member of Parliament, Mr. Andy Agbi, Youth Organizer, and Mr. David Dzatse, Branch Executive, were part of the entourage from the Office of the Member of Parliament.