GHS Council urged to assist Govt curb brain drain

Accra, Aug. 4 GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday called on the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Council to support efforts by the Government to curb the high rate of brain drain in the health sector because Ghanaians needed their services.

He said health personnel should have a high sense of sacrifice within their ranks to discharge the responsibilities expected by the people.

President Kufuor made the call when administering the oaths of office and secrecy to the Council, the Pharmacy Council Board and the Food and Drugs Board at the Castle, Osu.

He said moneymaking should not be the aim of health personnel because the society appreciated their services and their remuneration should be enough to sustain their sacrifices.

To the Food and Drugs Board, President Kufuor said they should act as personnel of the security agencies and scrutinise all food items and drugs that entered the country to expose the expired food items and drugs as well as wrong materials that entered the country to the law enforcement agencies to act on them expeditiously

He said controlling the menace of fake and expired food items and drugs on the market required an efficient and effective regulatory and monitoring mechanism to ensure that traders behaved responsibly. President Kufuor said this was a big challenge to the Board and urged them to be up and doing, be above board and avoid conflicts of interest in their operations.

"It will be unpardonable that a member of the Board would be involved in such acts", he said.

President Kufuor asked the Pharmacy Council to ensure that licences were issued to operators, who would render wholesome services to support medical practitioners and patients.

Dr A. G. Boohene, Chairman of the GHS Council, pledged that they would work with humility, diligence and full commitment to discharge their responsibilities.

On the brain drain in the health sector, Dr Boohene said the Council would put in place strategies and measures to stem. Professor G. D. Lutterodt, formerly of the University of Malaysia and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST) Kumasi, who is the Chairman of the Food and Drugs Board, pledged to work hard to move the Government's vision of a healthy society forward.

He said the unsafe and hazardous situation in the sector would cease when the Board worked in collaboration with the stakeholders to resolve the many health-related unresolved problems.

Professor Lutterodt said the Board was aware of the challenges ahead and optimistic that stakeholders in the Sector would co-operate with the Board to weed out all unethical practices in the Sector. He appealed to the Government to amend some of the laws and regulations in the sector to make their operations effective adding "we need the teeth that can bite but not artificial dentures".

Mr Harrison Kofi Abutiate, Chairman of the Pharmacy Council Board, said with the array of talents on the Board they would face the challenge ahead.

He appealed to the Government for support and co-operation to implement decisions made by the Board because they were determined to work diligently and with patriotism.

Other members of the GHS Council are: Professor Agyeman Badu Akosah, Director General of the GHS; Mr Owusu Agyei; Ms Mary Anne Addo and Mr J.G. Akoto.

The rest are: Lieutenant-Colonel Atiemo-Bampoe; Ms Sylvia Hinson Ekong; Mr E. K. Ackom and Mr D. K. Mensah.

Other members of the Food and Drugs Board are: Mr E.K. Agyarko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Food and Drugs Board; Mr John Pwamang of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Mr M. F. Awuku-Kwatia, Registrar of the Pharmacy Council; Dr A.W. Plahar of the Food Research Institute and Mr Samuel Duodu Manu of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) (Fisheries).

The rest are: Dr Mensah Agyen Frempong of MOFA (Veterinary Services); Mr Isaac Francis Jackson of MOFA (Crop Services); Mr Nimo Ahinkorah of the Ghana Standards Board; Dr Francis Ofei of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA); Ms Felicia Otchere Darko of the Attorney-General's Department and Mr Kenneth O. Danso, President of the Ghana National Association of Traditional Healers.

Other members of the Pharmacy Council Board are: Mr Felix Yellu, Director of Pharmaceutical Services; Mr Frank Amoako Boateng, President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and Mr Raymond Ashalley Tetteh, a Registered Pharmacist.

The rest are: Mrs Elizabeth Anima Appiah, a Registered Pharmacist; Mr Abraham Gyesie, a Pharmacist; Ms Mercy E. Kwaah, a Pharmacist and Mr Micheal F. Awuku-Kwatia, Registrar of the Council.