The Ministry of Health is hosting a Gambian medical delegation which is in the country to understudy the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS), a public institution established in 2003 to provide postgraduate medical training in medicine, surgery and related disciplines.

The four-member delegation is from the only teaching hospital in The Gambia, which was established with technical assistance from Ghana.

It is led by the Gambian Coordinator for the Postgraduate Medical Training Programme, Professor Yankuba Kassama.

The other members are the Chief Medical Director of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Prof. Ousman Nyan; a World Bank Project Coordinator from the Gambian Ministry of Health, Mr Abdoulie Mam Njie, and the Gambian Administrator for the Postgraduate Medical Training Programme, Mrs Penda Gaye.

Best place

Speaking at a brief ceremony at the start of the one-week study tour in Accra yesterday, Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini, said Ghana was once again happy and committed to extending a helping hand to the people of The Gambia.

He said it was evident that the success of the GCPS in training specialists had gone beyond the borders of the country.

“I believe the team from The Gambia has made an excellent choice in selecting Ghana for this enterprise. I entreat you to explore the strengths and challenges garnered by the college to ensure that your national college is established with greater ease,” he said.

Alhaji Seini pledged the ministry’s support to the Gambian delegation, saying it would also ensure that the delegation carried home experiences and expertise that would facilitate the replication task back in The Gambia.

The deputy minister congratulated past and present management of the GCPS on the honour they continued to bring to the country.

Background

Giving a brief background of the college, Alhaji Seini said it was set up as the national postgraduate medical college to train specialist doctors in Medicine and Surgery, and that 1,221 specialists in various specialties, 136 in the senior specialist category, had been trained.

The college had also trained specialists from Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, he added.

“Training at the college has been boosted in recent times by the commitment of the current administration,” he said, explaining that the government had redeemed a promise to doctors to fully sponsor specialist postgraduate training,” Alhaji Seini said.

Gratitude

The Leader of the Gambian delegation, Prof. Kassama, expressed gratitude to the government of Ghana and the college for accepting to support The Gambia’s efforts to establish a similar institution back home.

He also touted the strides made by the college and the health sector, which had gained international recognition worthy of emulation.

Discussions

The Rector of the GCPS, Prof. Richard Adanu, said The Gambia had been in discussions with the college for some time now, which had led to the study tour, saying the college took extreme pride in the partnership with The Gambia.

The college, he said, was committed to quality postgraduate training in the country, as well as helping other countries in West Africa to establish and maintain similar colleges of excellence.