The Institute is collaborating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), to train 15 healthcare professionals from 10 West and Central African countries in modern laboratory technology to enhance their skills in combating infectious diseases. The participating countries are; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and The Democratic Republic of Congo.
An opening ceremony for the training was held at the Insitute, hosted by the Director, Professor Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, with the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Professor Julius Fobil as Chair. Specially invited guests who graced the occasion were the representative of the Embassy of Japan in Ghana, Mr. Tetsuya Imaoka; the Chief Representative of JICA, Mr. Araki Yasumichi; a representative of the Director General of GTEC, Dr. Edmund Alaangdong, and Mr. Alieu Massaquoi, representative of the Liberia Embassy in Ghana.
The Participants who attended the opening ceremony were eager to learn the most recent advancements in virology, parasitology, and bacteriology as well as biosafety and laboratory quality management procedures. They also indicated their willingness to share the diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative capabilities of their countries’ medical facilities or laboratories, and looked forward to having these capabilities strengthened.
The course, which is funded by JICA and implemented by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, will be held for 8 weeks from 8th August 2022 to 30th September 2022 at the Institute.
The course will help biomedical staff members become more knowledgeable and proficient in infectious disease diagnosis. It will also make them familiar with modern laboratory equipment and foster networking across African nations on advanced laboratory administration.
Success stories from previous training (held for 42 professionals between 2019 and 2021) show that the trained employees were not only thriving in their domains of competence but were also teaching other colleagues at their respective institutions what they had learned. This year’s training will build on this success with the expansion of the participating countries to Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), two Central African countries, and potentially increase the reach to other African countries in the future.
JICA and NMIMR remain committed to providing world-class biomedical health services and training to Ghana and the rest of Africa. The Japanese Government continues to support Ghana’s efforts at providing affordable, high-quality universal healthcare and will continue to support future training, together with JICA and the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
