The Provost of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences (CBAS), Professor Boateng Onwona-Agyeman, and some officials of the CBAS paid a working visit to the University of Ghana Nutrition Research and Training Centre (UG-NRTC) in Asesewa, Eastern Region. The purpose of the visit was for the team to familiarise themselves with the activities of the Centre and to discuss pertinent issues for the advancement of the Centre.
Prof. Anna Lartey, a founding member of the Centre, and Dr. Agartha Ohemeng, Coordinator of the Centre, together with her team at the Centre welcomed the college officials and made brief presentations. The presentations highlighted the history of the Centre, its journey so far, partners, successes, challenges and prospects.
The Centre, a brainchild of Professor Anna Lartey and Professor Grace Marquis of McGill University, was commissioned on 29th July, 2010. The main motive was to ensure that nutrition research results have positive impact on the lives of people, especially persons living in deprived communities in rural settings.
The Centre runs a four-week certificate internship programme for students. The participants are usually from the University of Ghana, Iowa State University, USA and McGill University, Canada. The interns are trained to develop innovative ways of educating community members on nutrition issues as well as identifying and solving nutritional problems. These activities are interspersed with recreational activities. So far, the Centre has trained about 137 dietetics interns. The Centre also serves as a field research facility for graduate students in nutrition and related disciplines.
During the visit, the officials were led on a tour of the Centre by Prof. Lartey and Dr. Ohemeng. The team was shown the library, conference room, accommodation for trainees (6 rooms with 2 beds each), standby power plant, demonstration kitchen, storeroom for foodstuff, social room, instrument room, bungalow for resource persons (3-bedroom bungalow with 2 beds in each room), gardens for growing vegetables, oranges and mangoes, and the apiculture farm.
A key collaborator of the Centre, the Asesewa Government Hospital, represented by Dr. Kingsley Akorli, a Physician Assistant, seized the occasion to welcome the CBAS team and recounted the longstanding mutually beneficial relationship that exists between the Hospital and UG-NRTC.
The Provost expressed his appreciation to the UG-NRTC team for their warm reception and the good work they had done over the years. He then led a stakeholder engagement that highlighted the state of affairs at the Centre and strategies to ensure that it gained the necessary visibility and recognition within the University’s setup as well as among the public. He further assured the Centre of the College’s support to advance its progress. As a show of goodwill, the College pledged to donate two (2) 50-inches television sets for the Social Room and resource persons’ bungalow.
The UG-NRTC team thanked the CBAS team for the visit and expressed hope that the goodwill exhibited would be sustained to ensure the development of the Centre.
Group photograph after the visit to UG-NRTC
Accompanying the Provost were Prof. Augustine Ocloo, Dean, School of Biological Sciences; Prof. Seth Adu-Afarwuah, in-coming Head, Department of Nutrition and Food Science; Mr. Worlanyo Newton Torvinyo, Ag. College Secretary, CBAS; Mr. Benjamin Owusu Addo, College Finance Officer, CBAS; Mr. Richard Daah, Senior Assistant Registrar, CBAS; Mr. Daniel Hormeku, Senior Assistant Registrar, CBAS; Mr. John Adenaa Bawa, Senior Administrative Assistant, CBAS.
Others present were Mr. Kingsley Akorli, the Physician Assistant representing the Medical Doctor in charge of Asesewa Hospital, and Rev. Isaac Matey, a former member of the Asesewa Hospital Management Team and current member of the Asesewa Hospital Quality Assurance Committee.