India’s High Commissioner to Ghana, H.E. Sugandh Rajaram has said his outfit is ready to explore a “university-to-university” relationship with UHAS in the areas of student and faculty exchange, collaborations and research, among others.
At a brief visit to the Institute of Traditional and Alternate Medicine (ITAM) at UHAS during an official tour of the Volta region, High Commissioner Rajaram mentioned the high possibility of India working with ITAM in the area of traditional alternate medicine: “Your institute is the only that does work in the areas of traditional and alternate medicine, making you the most important partner of India in this venture.”
H.E. Rajaram also noted that by providing holistic wellbeing to humanity, traditional and alternate medicines have the ability of meeting the healthcare needs of a wider populace, which hitherto, stayed away from public hospitals.
He said, traditional alternate medicines were gaining popularity worldwide with research and studies being conducted into their efficacy as demand soars. He said ITAM, as the only institute in the country certified to conduct studies into this category of medicines, “makes your institute the only one for this collaboration” which would require seamless stakeholder consultations to achieve the collective objective.
UHAS Vice Chancellor Professor John Gyapong said, as a young institution with a mandate to train health professional in the country and beyond, UHAS is available for collaborations with external partners. “We welcome international participation and joint research for the mutual benefit for all.”
He added that with health and research as the cardinal focus of ITAM, the Institute welcomes joint research collaborations, faculty development, technology transfer, etc., from India, which would promote medical tourism in both countries.
Professor Marcel T. Bayor, Director of ITAM said the young institution is uniquely placed to look into traditional alternate medicines, and therefore needs all stakeholders aboard to operate. “To make us an international centre for traditional and alternate medicine, we have strategically designed a five-year development plan to achieve our objectives.”
He called for extensive collaborations with external agencies like India for more elaborate research into alternate medicine. He said, already ITAM has collaborated with a national agency in India to test some products. “We will also need some training and capacity building from your outfit,” he added.
Professor Bayor added that the institute envisions the creation of a Traditional, Comprehensive and Alternate Medicine (TCAM) multi-purpose hospital with specialty in herbal medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy and other forms of alternate medicine, as well as train others in the practice.
