KNUST and KATH to Strengthen Collaboration; Aim to Bridge Specialist Healthcare Access Gap

The Pro Vice-Chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo, has underscored the necessity for KNUST and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to deepen their collaboration. This initiative aims to innovate and address the significant gap in specialist healthcare services in the Ashanti Region.

Prof. Owusu-Dabo highlighted the disparity between the Ashanti Region and the Greater Accra Region regarding well-established specialist hospitals, despite Ashanti’s large population. He emphasized the responsibility of these two prestigious institutions to work more closely together to tackle this challenge.

Leading members of the KATH-KNUST Joint Standing Committee on a courtesy call to the CEO of KATH, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, Prof. Owusu-Dabo, who chairs the committee, noted its role in enhancing the relationship between the university and the hospital. He emphasized the critical need for continued collaboration to meet regional and national healthcare needs.

“We are the two most prestigious institutions in this part of the country, and we have a duty to work together and strengthen each other to deliver on our respective mandates in clinical training, specialist healthcare services, and research,” Prof. Owusu-Dabo stated. He also lauded the transformative leadership of Prof. Addai-Mensah and urged him to continue repositioning KATH as the leading tertiary hospital in the sub-region.

Prof. Addai-Mensah acknowledged the symbiotic relationship between KNUST and KATH, noting that the hospital’s status as a teaching hospital is due to its affiliation with KNUST. He mentioned that his administration has worked to bridge the relationship with clinical staff from the university by ensuring equity and high expectations.

Expressing satisfaction with the renewed unity between the institutions, Prof. Addai-Mensah emphasized the need for continuous collaboration to improve healthcare services. The Provost of the College of Health Sciences, Prof. Christian Agyare, reaffirmed the long-term view of KNUST’s partnership with KATH.

He announced plans for constructing an ultra-modern office and lecture hall complex at KATH as part of the School of Medical Sciences’ (SMS) 50th-anniversary celebration next year. “Even though KNUST is constructing its own ultra-modern medical center, its partnership with KATH will continue to be prioritized and strengthened because of the mutually beneficial relationship that has existed between the two institutions over the decades,” Prof. Agyare asserted.