COME AND HELP (PAGE 34)

A Ghanaian biomedical research scientist, Peter Atadja, has appealed to Ghanaian health professionals seeking greener pastures in the Diaspora to come home occasionally to help produce the needed human resources required to move the country forward.
Dr Atadja, the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, said this would enable Ghanaian Biomedical scientists to transfer technology to Ghanaian professionals at home to create a common platform for research.
The Provost, making the call at the opening of the first Ghana Biomedical Convention, said this was the first time the country had brought together about 200 renowned Ghanaian biomedical researchers and students across the globe.
The aim of the convention was to share knowledge in biomedical science for the benefit of Ghana and the sub-region.
The convention, on theme "Opportunities and challenges of new technologies in Biomedicine", was to address problems such as the limited presence of current developments in contemporary Ghanaian biomedical research.
Dr Atadja said there was untapped local Ghanaian natural drugs knowledge and the untapped Diasporan-Ghanaian biomedical resource that could be exploited for mutual benefit.
He said the mission of the college was to produce highly qualified and competent health professionals and medical scientists to provide curative services that would bring good health, comfort and happiness to the people through world-class excellence in teaching, research and dissemination of knowledge.
Mr Samuel Kojo Kwofie of the South Africa National Bioinformatic Institute said the country was experiencing a fair degree of macroeconomic stability due to the formulation and implementation of sound fiscal policies and urged Ghanaians in the diaspora to take advantage and return home to assist in nation building.
Mr Kwofie, who spoke on the topic “Translating DNA into money; Strategies for the growth of Biotechnology in Ghana”, called for a review of the draft biotechnology strategy by drawing on recent experiences to improve the model.
He explained that the country required a robust bioscience enterprise and biotechnology platform as the core areas to help advance the bio-industry to boost economic growth.
He said the creation of biotechnology platforms could serve as incubators for start-up companies and could be used to address national health needs such as the development of novel pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits.