Ghana, Korea partner to strengthen biomedical engineering for quality healthcare delivery
The Ministry of Health (MOH) is partnering with the government of Korea to strengthen biomedical engineering (BME) as a critical field for the delivery of quality healthcare in the country.
The partnership would see among others, a nationwide capacity building and upskill of BME professionals, a review of curricula in training institutions, equipping of health and training institutions with requisite equipment and mainstreaming BME in all levels of healthcare.
At a stakeholders conference in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Oko Boye in a speech read on his behalf, underscored the need for skilled BME as healthcare demands continue to grow across the country.
“Biomedical engineers are pivotal in bridging the gap between medicine and engineering, enhancing healthcare through the design, maintenance and management of medical devices,” he said.
According to the Minister, the health sector relies heavily on advanced technologies and equipment in the delivery of services and was important that BMEs are recognised as a cadre of critical healthcare professionals.
He mentioned some BME specialties including bio instrumentation, biomechanics, clinical engineering, medical imaging and Orthopaedic bioengineering which were essential to address medical challenges and improve health outcomes.
“It is essential for professionals in the field to advocate for their role to be recognised and contribute to policy development and professional growth.
As healthcare demands grow, the need for skilled biomedical engineers will increase and training programmes must be practical and focus on meeting these needs,” Dr Oko Boye said.
He further expressed government’s commitment towards the continuous development of the profession “to support Ghana’s evolving healthcare system and ensure that our patients receive the best care possible in our healthcare facilities.”
Professor Shin Sang Bum, a Director at Yonsei University in Korea, a partner organisation, highlighted the significance of BME to address emerging health challenges hence the need to equip the sector to rise to the occasion.
Sharing the success stories of BME graduates produced from Korean universities to resolve most of the country’s health challenges, he noted that the collaboration was timely to help Ghana toe similar line and meet international health targets.
The chairperson for the occasion and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Ghana, Professor Elsie Effah Kaufmann, outlined challenges including funding, lack of logistics in training institutions, lack of field practical for trainees among others.
“Because there is barely any support from anywhere, sometimes we have students coming out of our institutions and they are not fit for purpose in the facilities because they lack basic skills and experience to operate in the sector,” she stated.
Held on the theme; “Bridging global perspectives: Advancing BME practices and licensing for enhanced healthcare in Ghana,” BME is the application of engineering principles to solve biological and medical problems for the purpose of improving healthcare.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH
