By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Navrongo (U/E), Feb. 14, GNA – Management of the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) has pledged to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service (GHS), to fight Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) in the Upper East Region.
Professor Albert Luguterah, the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university, said management emphasised health sciences and possessed several professionals in their respective areas of expertise.
“For us, we certainly will join the campaign. You can count us in. As a university, one of the things we pride ourselves in is our strong emphasis on the health sciences; we have several professionals in that direction,” he said.
Professor Luguterah said this when a team from the GHS and Council Members, led by Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the Director-General (DG), visited the university to raise awareness about CSM within the university community and solicit management’s support to fight the disease.
CSM, which is mainly caused by a group of bacterial strains namely: streptococcus pneumoniae, neisseria meningitidis, and haemophilus influenzae, is an epidemic-prone disease that affects a large proportion of the global population.
Its mode of transmission is through direct contact with respiratory droplets or indirect contact by touching contaminated surfaces with clinical signs and symptoms such as fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, and photophobia, among others.
The Upper East Region and neighboring countries were known to record CSM cases during the dry season between November and May.
Joint sensitisation efforts by the two institutions could, therefore, help curb any possible spread of the disease.
Professor Luguterah assured the DG and the GHS management, saying, “We will do the needful in terms of informing our students and will try to get them on board to also campaign.”
Dr Akoriyea stated that the visit to the university was part of the team’s regional tour to raise awareness on meningitis. The team has so far visited the Northern, Bono, and North East Regions.
“Fortunately, for now, we do not have cases there, even though they are all within the meningitis belt. We will visit the Upper West and Savannah Regions, where we have recorded cases involving deaths,” the DG said.
He stressed the need for students to stay hydrated and observe all precautionary measures to prevent the possible spread of the disease from the university community to their families, friends, and respective communities.
Dr Akoriyea said “Meningitis doesn’t discriminate, and so we would be happy if the management of the university could raise awareness among the students.”
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali / Christabel Addo
14 Feb. 2026
Photo caption: Group photo of management of GHS and UTAS after the meeting.