In a historic collaboration, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana, under the auspices of the Ghana Veterinary Council, have inducted a group of 42 veterinary medicine doctors.
The inductees, who comprised 17 doctors from the University of Ghana and 25 doctors from the KNUST, took the veterinary oath under the guidance of Dr Jonathan Amakye-Anim, the chairman of the Ghana Veterinary Council.
Among the newly inducted veterinary medicine professionals were 28 men and 14 women, who pledged under oath, their commitment to using their expertise and scientific knowledge to advance society.
Addressing the inductees during the ceremony in Accra, Dr Amakye-Anim praised both students and the schools of veterinary medicine for the momentous partnership.
He said the achievement marked a new era in the field of veterinary medicine in Ghana, as the trained professionals were poised to make invaluable contributions to animal health and welfare.
He said the joint effort between the two prestigious institutions exemplified their commitment to excellence in education and their dedication to advancing veterinary science in Ghana and beyond.
In a keynote address, Prof. William K. Ampofo, a board member and Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute, highlighted the many important contributions veterinary medicine had made to human health.
He explained that veterinary medicine as a medical specialty was concerned with the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases affecting the health of domestic and wild animals and the prevention of animal diseases in humans.
“We hope that our new inductees will understand the very important role that they are going to play in our society here in Ghana and also in the sub-region and ensure that they broaden their knowledge,” he added.
Aside from veterinary hospitals, he explained that pharmaceutical companies also employed veterinary medicine doctors in the development of drugs, safety testing of drugs, and safety testing of vaccines, as well as antibiotics.
Professor Ampofo said Ghana had rolled out a programme that continued to maintain its surveillance of animal populations, and it was done by the Ghana Armed Forces together with the Ghana Veterinary Services.
“Every year, there is active surveillance in various backyards, in the military barracks, and also in some private farms looking for the presence of avian influenza,” he said.
He urged the new doctors not to use their acquired knowledge just to look after animals, stating, “You can help prevent transmission of disease from animals to humans, and you can help us control diseases in animals by working towards more efficient vaccines.”
Adding, “You can help us to make human vaccines better human vaccines, and then help in a significant contribution to public health and one health.”
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, Dr Samuel Dodzie, a newly inducted veterinary medical doctor, applauded the joint induction event as it harmonised efforts of the two schools of veterinary medicine for the advancement of the veterinary profession and make its practice have a greater impact on the country’s economy.
Referencing recent medical research, Dr Dodzie stated that about 70 to 80 per cent of diseases that affected humans were of animal origin, and that it had also been found that over 75 per cent of new or emerging infectious diseases were of animal origin.
“And so, the one health concept that has existed since its inception has been amplified and encouraged among medical professionals as the means to solving medically related problems in humans, animals, and the environment,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Veterinary Council had indicated that several bills had been introduced and at various stages for passage into law towards reforming the practice of veterinary medicine in Ghana in line with global standards.
