By Edward Acquah, GNA
Accra, Jan. 19, GNA – The Social Investment Fund (SIF) will on Wednesday, January 21, hand over project sites to contractors for the construction of three health-related skills and research facilities at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The construction of the climate-proofed and gender-responsive facilities form part of the implementation of the Post-COVID-19 Skills Development and Productivity Enhancement Project (PSDPEP), a five-year initiative (2022-2027) being implemented by the Government of Ghana with funding support from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The facilities, for the Biotechnology Centre, the Department of Medical Microbiology, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery of the University of Ghana, are expected to strengthen health-related skills development and research in the country.
The PSDPEP was launched in June 2022 following the signing of an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the AfDB, with funding from a grant facility of US$28.5 million.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The overall objective is to contribute to Ghana’s sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery, particularly in the health sector, while supporting the restoration of livelihoods, income and employment opportunities, and private sector development.
Specifically, it seeks to support health-related and technical entrepreneurial skills development in higher education to enhance healthcare delivery and promote job creation among the youth/ women, respectively.
The initiative is structured around three main components: skills development in higher education to strengthen the health sector; rebuilding youth and women’s livelihoods through entrepreneurship and employment creation; and project management.
Under the skills development component, the project supports the construction and equipping of health-related skills and research facilities at the University of Ghana.
It assists the sustainable procurement of equipment and furniture, and the conduct of biomedical and biotechnological research aimed at improving Ghana’s capacity to respond to current diseases and future pandemics.
The component also provides scholarships to train about 150 faculty and research staff, 35 per cent of whom are women, to enhance teaching and research capacity, particularly at the doctoral level.
Additionally, it is to strengthen the Ghana News Agency’s Health and Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) communication capacity through the digitalisation of systems, rehabilitation of its buildings at five stations, and the training of 144 journalists in health and MSMEs reporting.
The Social Investment Fund is the Project Implementation Unit working in partnership with the Ghana News Agency, the communication arm of the project, the Microfinance and Loans Centre, and the University of Ghana.
The beneficiaries include staff and clients of the implementing institutions, youth and women operating MSMEs, and the general population.
The handing over of the project sites to contractors marks a key milestone in efforts to strengthen Ghana’s health research and skills development infrastructure.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe