The newly-appointed Executive Director of Sasakawa Africa Foundation (SAF), Ms. Fumiko Iseki, had paid a courtesy call on the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K. T. Oduro as part of her working visit to familiarise herself with the operations of the Sasakawa B.Sc. Agricultural Extension Programme at University of Cape Coast.

The two officials were accompanied by The Nippon Foundation Advisor, Mr. Yoshiro Toriumi, and the Deputy Regional Director of SAF, Dr. Deola Naibakelao.

Introducing the two officials to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the Head of  Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Prof. Festus Annor-Frempong, said the visit was to help them get first-hand information on the development of the B.Sc. Agricultural Extension Programme sponsored through the Sasakawa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) which has now merged with Sasakawa Global 2000 (SG2000) into the Sasakawa African Fund. He explained that the programme was launched in 1992 but implementation started in 1993 through partnership with University of Cape Coast, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Sasakawa African Association, Winrock International Institute for Agriculture.

Giving a background to the SAFE programme, Prof. Annor-Frempong said there was severe hunger in Africa in the 1980s and indicated that through the initiatives of Ryochi Sasakawa, Norman Borlaug, and former President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter and some African leaders SG2000 was founded.

He said Sasakawa Global 2000 and Ghana Government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture provided technology to farmers to improve their productivity to ensure food security. He indicated that the front line staff of Ministry of Food and Agriculture possessed high technical knowledge (crop, animal production etc) but lacked effective communication skills and knowledge to facilitate change and adoption of improved technologies.

Prof. Annor-Frempong noted that UCC was the first institution in Africa, to host the SAFE Programme to train these front line staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. He said the incorporation of Supervised Enterprise Projects (SEPs) aimed at immersing students in valuable farmer-focused, experience-based learning activities that mirror the total milieu surrounding subsistence and semi-commercial farming systems in Africa has also contributed to the success of the programme. He further indicated that the SAFE programme at UCC has trained 547 graduates who were working in the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, private extension organisations and development partners such as USAID, and AGRA. The establishment of the Sasakawa Guest Centre generates income to support the SAFE programme at UCC. 

On her part, Ms. Iseki said she was excited to be at UCC, which she described as “the Mecca of the SAFE Programme”. “Though I was appointed a year ago, I have heard and read several reports of the impact of the UCC SAFE Programme in the Ghanaian economy and how other African countries have learnt from your success story” she noted.

Ms. Iseki said her outfit was building synergy to infuse best field practices into educational curriculum of its programmes in the Universities. She said a lot of efforts and resources would be channeled into capacity programmes to enhance food productivity to ensure food security. “I believe each person has a full potential and what is needed is the environment, opportunity and confidence so SAFE will do its best to ensure that they build the capacity of both students and farmers to achieve these” she added.

Responding, Prof. Oduro reiterated UCC’s commitment towards the SAFE programme which according to him had created several self-sustaining projects on campus and also impacted positively in the agricultural sector of the Ghanaian economy. He said through the SAFE programme, UCC had been recognised as one of the best Agriculture Universities in Africa.

Prof. Oduro said the Planting for Food and Jobs policy introduced by Government of Ghana was one of the key interventions to address food sufficiency and also create employment. He however, noted that, in order to realise the full potential of such laudable projects, stakeholders in the Agriculture must engage academia to bring on board their research findings.

The Pro-Vice-Chancellor called on the two officials to support research at UCC to help solve the problem of post-harvest losses which was negatively affecting the investment of farmers. “If we are able to have a post-harvest management system, Africa will not become a dumping place for unwholesome food items,” he noted. He called for funding to establish a “Centre of Excellence in Agriculture” in the University.

Present at the meeting were the Dean, School of Agriculture, Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako, Director of Academic Affairs, Mr. Jeff T. Onyame; Ag. Director of Public Affairs, Major Kofi Baah-Bentum (Rtd) and College Registrar, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Mrs. Mildred Asmah. 

The UCC Business Incubator (UCCBI)has opened a series of workshop for applicants of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) on campus.

The UCCBI has been selected as one the hubs to train businesses in the Central Region for the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP).

The workshop which is being funded by the Ministry for Business Development is aimed at providing structured Entrepreneurship and Business Training for all the applicants of the NEIP Business Support Programme. Participants were also expected to get a business support services in areas such as capacity building, marketing, branding and other management skills.

Delivering a presentation on “Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset (Creativity and Innovation)”, Prof. Rosemond Boohene, told the participants to approach their businesses with passion. She said they could only succeed as entrepreneurs if they apply innovation and creativity to their businesses. “You become creative by thinking outside the box otherwise you cannot exhibit creative behaviour,” she noted.

Prof. Boohene advised the participants to adapt to the business environment based on the feedback and lessons learnt adding that “there’s no straight path in starting as an entrepreneur”. She reminded them that the business terrain was very competitive and urged them to think ahead. She also urged them to develop methods to evaluate options and ideas to determine the best products and services for their business noting that “building entrepreneurship mindset is not easy”.

The Resource Team Coordinator of the workshop, Dr. Edward Nii Amarteifio, said the training programme was designed to build the capacity of participants to help their businesses to grow. He advised them to take the presentations and practical sessions of the workshop serious in order to broaden their knowledge base in Entrepreneurship.

Topics to be treated during the workshop series are: “Building Business Opportunities into Dream Business (Business Concept Development), Starting Your Dream Business, Business Plan Development, Strategies for Surviving in Competitive Environment Networking, Book Keeping: Prime Books of Accounts and Branding and Packaging.

Resource Persons for the workshop are Prof. Edward Marfo-Yiadom, Prof. Boachie-Mensah, Prof. Daniel Agyapong, Dr. Siaw Frimpong, Dr. Kwaku Adjei, Mr. Dominic Owusu.

Others include: Prof. Ismael Mensah, Dr. Francis Armah, Dr. Eric Opoku Mensah, Dr. Daniel Apaak, Dr. Julius Hagan and Mr. Carl Korkpoe.

The University of Cape Coast has designed a programme to upgrade Professional Nursing Assistant Clinical (NAC) and Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) certificate programmes into Diploma in Midwifery. 

This arrangement was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), UCC and the various Health Training Institutions. The programme would be implemented through a sandwich period of eight weeks as a bridge course for the award of Diploma.

When finalised, the eight-week sandwich course would be run specifically for qualified Nurse Assistants to be registered by the NMC as Registered Midwife. It would also provide for equitable and appropriate placement of this group of midwives in varied health care roles as in the case of those who do the straight Diploma in Midwifery programme.

Launching the new Diploma Programme, the Deputy Minister for Health, Ms. Tina Mensah, indicated the government’s readiness to support the next stage of the development of the newly-introduced novelty in Nursing and Midwifery education.   She explained that with more than four decades of regulatory experiences, the NMC in collaboration with some training institutions had churned out qualified midwifery practitioners at the certificate and diploma levels, and the new programme would have a far-reaching impact in strengthening the country’s health system.

“Information available to the Ministry from the Council indicates that 985 potential candidates for the Post NAC and NAP Diploma in Midwifery are expected to graduate from the conversion this year,” she said.

Ms. Mensah said the Post NAC and NAP Diploma in Midwifery would not only prepare qualified trainees to pursue a rewarding and challenging career in midwifery, but also provide them with the requisite knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver safe and effective, evidenced-based care, and to further ensure responsible and accountable practices. This, according to her would certainly contribute to improving the quality of health care in the country by helping to raise the status of that category of health workers to the "professional” level, and prepare them for further development of their midwifery careers through higher education.

Ms. Mensah said it was an undeniable fact that, central to the progress of any nation was the development of its human resource through training and education, adding that “in the 21st century, labour investment comes not where labour is cheap, but where it is skilled.” She said there was the need to build a stock of professional and skilled midwives, to contribute to the reduction of the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Ghana, she said, was currently aiming at reducing neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births and under five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live birth the same period. “With the country’s current population of over 29 million, the over 19,000 professional midwives is woefully inadequate”, stressing the need for more of these experts, to handle maternal and child issues including their families” she stated.

The Deputy Minister recommended that, in order to ensure a successful outcome of the programme, the curriculum of the programme, which sought to address the gaps in the previous curriculum ought to be regularly reviewed, updated and reoriented to reflect continuous relevance to the country’s needs in midwifery services.

She was hopeful that the curriculum for the programme would clearly reflect Ghana’s expectation, health problems, health system and the prevailing social determinants of health.  She further called for a closer collaboration between the Nursing and Midwifery Council and various health service providers and partners to ensure the success of the programme.

The Chairman of Committee for Institutional Affiliation, Prof. Edward Marfo-Yiadom, on his part gave assurance that with UCC’s rich experiences in mentoring of tertiary institutions, the institutions should expect the best of services from the University. He said UCC had put modalities in place for the successful running of the Diploma programme.

Prof. Marfo-Yiadom said, the University as part of its mandate as mentor, had finished with the designing of the curriculum for the programme and indicated that “We shall be in charge of assessment which includes moderation of examination questions and marked scripts; course outlines; admission of candidates to the Diploma Programme and award of Diploma to successful of students who complete the programme. He said the University would build the capacity of tutors and other administrative staff of the 38 Colleges to effectively handle the programme to achieve its objectives.

As part of the launch, a stakeholder meeting was held for the team from UCC to explain the details of the programme. Issues that were discussed were the Curriculum, Financial matters, UCC’s responsibility as Mentoring Institution and the role of the mentee institutions.

The Ghana Health Service has also agreed to extend the study leave period for prospective candidates to enable them pursue the course, while the MOH would also play host to the programme within the campuses of its various training institutions across the country.

The team from UCC comprised Prof Johnson Boampong, Prof Kankam Boadu, Prof A.N.M Pappoe, Prof Francis Offei, Mr Jeff Teye Onyame, Dr. Vera Ankomah Sey, Dr Andrews Druye, Dr Samuel Acquah, Dr Evelyn Ampofo, Mr. Stephen Baffoe, Mr. Justice K.G.A Boateng, Mr. Kwabena Antwi Agyapong and Mr Eugene Johnson.

The University of Cape Coast has designed a programme to upgrade Professional Nursing Assistant Clinical (NAC) and Nurse Assistant Preventive (NAP) certificate programmes into Diploma in Midwifery. 

This arrangement was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), UCC and the various Health Training Institutions. The programme would be implemented through a sandwich period of eight weeks as a bridge course for the award of Diploma.

When finalised, the eight-week sandwich course would be run specifically for qualified Nurse Assistants to be registered by the NMC as Registered Midwife. It would also provide for equitable and appropriate placement of this group of midwives in varied health care roles as in the case of those who do the straight Diploma in Midwifery programme.

Launching the new Diploma Programme, the Deputy Minister for Health, Ms. Tina Mensah, indicated the government’s readiness to support the next stage of the development of the newly-introduced novelty in Nursing and Midwifery education.   She explained that with more than four decades of regulatory experiences, the NMC in collaboration with some training institutions had churned out qualified midwifery practitioners at the certificate and diploma levels, and the new programme would have a far-reaching impact in strengthening the country’s health system.

“Information available to the Ministry from the Council indicates that 985 potential candidates for the Post NAC and NAP Diploma in Midwifery are expected to graduate from the conversion this year,” she said.

Ms. Mensah said the Post NAC and NAP Diploma in Midwifery would not only prepare qualified trainees to pursue a rewarding and challenging career in midwifery, but also provide them with the requisite knowledge, skills and behaviours to deliver safe and effective, evidenced-based care, and to further ensure responsible and accountable practices. This, according to her would certainly contribute to improving the quality of health care in the country by helping to raise the status of that category of health workers to the "professional” level, and prepare them for further development of their midwifery careers through higher education.

Ms. Mensah said it was an undeniable fact that, central to the progress of any nation was the development of its human resource through training and education, adding that “in the 21st century, labour investment comes not where labour is cheap, but where it is skilled.” She said there was the need to build a stock of professional and skilled midwives, to contribute to the reduction of the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030.

Ghana, she said, was currently aiming at reducing neonatal mortality to at least 12 per 1,000 live births and under five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live birth the same period. “With the country’s current population of over 29 million, the over 19,000 professional midwives is woefully inadequate”, stressing the need for more of these experts, to handle maternal and child issues including their families” she stated.

The Deputy Minister recommended that, in order to ensure a successful outcome of the programme, the curriculum of the programme, which sought to address the gaps in the previous curriculum ought to be regularly reviewed, updated and reoriented to reflect continuous relevance to the country’s needs in midwifery services.

She was hopeful that the curriculum for the programme would clearly reflect Ghana’s expectation, health problems, health system and the prevailing social determinants of health.  She further called for a closer collaboration between the Nursing and Midwifery Council and various health service providers and partners to ensure the success of the programme.

The Chairman of Committee for Institutional Affiliation, Prof. Edward Marfo-Yiadom, on his part gave assurance that with UCC’s rich experiences in mentoring of tertiary institutions, the institutions should expect the best of services from the University. He said UCC had put modalities in place for the successful running of the Diploma programme.

Prof. Marfo-Yiadom said, the University as part of its mandate as mentor, had finished with the designing of the curriculum for the programme and indicated that “We shall be in charge of assessment which includes moderation of examination questions and marked scripts; course outlines; admission of candidates to the Diploma Programme and award of Diploma to successful of students who complete the programme. He said the University would build the capacity of tutors and other administrative staff of the 38 Colleges to effectively handle the programme to achieve its objectives.

As part of the launch, a stakeholder meeting was held for the team from UCC to explain the details of the programme. Issues that were discussed were the Curriculum, Financial matters, UCC’s responsibility as Mentoring Institution and the role of the mentee institutions.

The Ghana Health Service has also agreed to extend the study leave period for prospective candidates to enable them pursue the course, while the MOH would also play host to the programme within the campuses of its various training institutions across the country.