The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has chalked a critical milestone by commissioning five scientific laboratories and the UHAS Bulletin at a short but impressive ceremony.

The laboratories are the ZebraFish lab, Graduate Research lab for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, UHAS Dental Clinic, Imaging Simulation Lab, UHAS Counselling and Wellness Centre, as well as the launch of the UHAS Bulletin, to become the one-stop mouthpiece of the University’s information architecture to serve its internal and external publics.

Professor Lydia Aziato, the Vice Chancellor of UHAS, said the mission of the University to provide quality education, advance knowledge through scholarship and research, which is expected to improve health and quality of life through community service, is gradually coming to light.

She said the collective expectation to become the pre-eminent health research educational institution dedicated to community service is on course and urged stakeholders to keep this reality alive through support.

She said the commissioning of five laboratories epitomises hard work from all, deepening their resolve to maintain the status quo.

She disclosed that the imaging simulation lab is the first-of-a-kind facility in the country and the ZebraFish lab, a third after the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, which are expected to contribute to its internally generated fund dispositions.

She acknowledged the effort of the University’s forebears for their vision, which would be upheld, and prayed that an excellent service attitude and core evidence-based care be exhibited at the facilities at all times, while mainstream standards and maintenance culture.

She commended their collaborators, friends of the University, philanthropists, and an anonymous provider of a dentistry table for the school, for their collective and continued support to uplift the training of students.

Prof Kwame Ohene Buabeng, Dean, School of Pharmacy, said the ZebraFish lab offers an unparalleled technology and opportunity to enhance research and training, and to undertake testing of drug candidates, molecular as well as blood candidates.

He said the concept, which is global technology, could be used to model and unlock human disease incidences and undertake toxicological assessment of water resources for their quality, and thanked Kinapharma Company for providing them with micro-injectors.

Dr Seth K. Angmorterh, Senior Lecturer, Department of Medical Imaging, said the state-of-the-art imaging simulation lab has the latest imaging technology that would bring a positive impact on training and income-generating capacities of the department.

He said the simulation hub was funded courtesy of the Ghana Skills Development Fund to support skills development for the provision of quality-oriented programming to lessen the burden of having to over-explain concepts imaginarily.

Dr Fernando M. A. Acevedo, Acting Dean, School of Dentistry, noted that UHAS complements public and private Universities in the country that were teaching dentistry, but was short to say the numbers being churned out were limited.

He said that extrapolating the population of the country to dentists shows a disturbing 1:50,000 ratio compared to the World Health Organisation (WHO) standing of between 1 5,000-7,000, saying training institutions were the way to go.

He said that in full swing, services would extend to the public to sample some of the state-of-the-art services in the facility.

Dr Emmanuel Dziwornu, Head of Department, School of Medicine and Mental Health, said the establishment of the Centre was apt to offer psycho-social support services contributing to the holistic development of the university community.

He said the Centre is dedicated to promoting mental health and wellbeing by promoting accessible, professional and ethical counselling services to students, staff and community members, intended to foster personal growth, resilience and overall psychological wellbeing.

Mr Francis Ahiekpor, CEO, MES Equipment Limited, in an address read for him, said the Company is notable for the distribution of Medical, Educational, Scientific, & Laboratory Equipment in Ghana and has partnered with some of the world’s leading brands to deliver quality equipment.

“We have partnered with the world’s leading brands to bring the best quality home for more than half a century. In addition, we have crafted our own house brands to local quality standards to offer an economic alternative for selected lines,” proud about the UHAS collaboration.

Ms Yaa Amankwa Opuni, the Registrar of the UHAS, who launched the UHAS Bulletin, said the publication is a monthly e-newsletter designed to provide the university community and public with issues of topical interests, events, institutional performance, celebrate milestones, and awards to motivate excellence.

It would also highlight research, alumni updates, current information from the management news from schools and institutions.

Ms Buami commended Togbe Buami IX, the Director of Public Affairs, and his team for the initiative.