Accra: Professor Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), has appealed for increased government support to enable the university expand its infrastructure, recruit more staff, and introduce new academic programmes to meet emerging trends in healthcare, research, and technology. She made the appeal during the second session of the university's 10th Congregation held in Ho on Friday, where a total of 1,097 students graduated from various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
According to Ghana News Agency, Prof Aziato highlighted the university's significant growth since its inception in 2012 with only 154 students. UHAS currently runs 23 undergraduate and 25 postgraduate programmes and is preparing to introduce several new programmes from the 2026 and 2027 academic years to strengthen healthcare education and research. The new programmes will include MSc, MPhil, and PhD courses in areas such as Health Data Science, Chemical Biology, Medical Anthropology, Dietetics and Nutrition, Sonography, Optometry, Environmental and Occupational Health, Monitoring and Evaluation of Health Programmes, and Nursing Leadership and Management.
Prof Aziato emphasized the importance of Health Data Science in today's AI-driven world, noting its potential to help health professionals use data for disease prediction, modeling, and diagnosis. However, she also highlighted the university's challenges, including limited infrastructure and resources, which allowed them to admit only 2,021 regular students out of 14,430 applications for the 2024/2025 academic year.
Prof Aziato appealed for government attention to develop the university's schools and provide necessary resources, stating that UHAS currently has a student population of 10,292 but only 879 staff members, which she described as inadequate for a specialized health institution. She explained that many staff members are on study leave, leave of absence, or have migrated abroad due to increased global demand for health professionals following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Responding to these concerns, Mr. James Gunu, Volta Regional Minister, assured the university of the government's commitment to addressing its challenges and supporting its development agenda. He acknowledged UHAS as a progressive institution contributing significantly to healthcare delivery and human resource development in Ghana. Mr. Gunu mentioned ongoing discussions about establishing a UHAS Medical Centre and expanding educational facilities within the university enclave, promising to address all concerns raised by the university management.
The congregation was part of the activities marking the university's 10th Congregation ceremony, which attracted government officials, traditional leaders, alumni, parents, guardians, and members of the academic community.