Accra: The Fifth Professor Margaret Gyapong Annual Lecture and Mentorship programme for female students, faculty, and staff has taken place at the Cedi Auditorium of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho. The event coincided with a scholarship scheme, named after Prof Gyapong's mother, 'Dora Gertrude Quaye Memorial Scholarship Fund,' which was instituted to support brilliant and needy students who required financial assistance.
According to Ghana News Agency, the lecture and mentorship event, themed 'Nurturing the Girl-Child: What Investment Do We Need?' saw six recipients awarded scholarships for the 2026/2027 academic period, worth GHS36,520. Professor Mrs. Esther Yeboah Danso-Wiredu, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), served as the guest speaker. She emphasized that the girl-child is a promise to be fulfilled through policy and investments, rather than a problem to be solved.
Prof Danso-Wiredu highlighted the shared responsibility of nurturing the girl-child, involving families, individuals, institutions, and communities, and stressed the importance of the willingness of the girl-child to be nurtured. She underscored the need for greater investment in nurturing the character of the girl-child, moral uprightness, and the value of respecting all people encountered in life.
Prof Danso-Wiredu shared her leadership style, which involves task-sharing, setting targets, and working towards them, while ignoring gossip and distractions. She encouraged students to aspire to leadership roles, sharing her own experiences in various institutional positions. She stressed the importance of including girls and young women in decision-making platforms and supporting leadership programs for girls, as this promotes societal progress.
Prof Lydia Aziato, Vice Chancellor of UHAS, praised Prof Gyapong as an accomplished and internationally acclaimed medical anthropologist and a former Director at the Institute of Health Research, UHAS. She noted that Prof Gyapong used her 'Outstanding Female Science Prize Money' of 20,000 Euros to establish the scholarship scheme in her late mother's name.
The Vice Chancellor mentioned that the UHAS Governing Council, in December 2021, acknowledged Prof Gyapong's performance by instituting the lecture and mentorship programme and supporting the scholarship scheme rollout. Prof Gyapong shared her personal experiences growing up with a single parent and her resolve to give back to society as a civic responsibility.
Prof Gyapong paid tribute to her late mother's commitment to education and acknowledged the contributions of her spouse, Prof John Gyapong, family, and friends to the scholarship fund. She made an open request for support to expand the reach of the scholarship scheme to benefit more female students.