The students of School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SoPPS), University of Cape Coast, have donated packs of antimalarial drugs, hematinics and analgesics to the Essuehyia Health Centre in the Ekumfi District of Central Region on Friday, June 10, 2022.
They also donated over 200 antihelmintics (dewormers) to the Essarkyir Methodist Basic School to be used for mass deworming of the pupils.
All these activities formed part of their Community-Based Experience and Service (COBES) programme, which is an important component in the training of Doctor of Pharmacy students at the University of Cape Coast.
The eleven students and their facilitator, Dr. Isaac Tabiri Henneh, who visited the Ekumfi community carried out research on the community’s knowledge, attitudes and practices as far as antimicrobial resistance is concerned.
They also educated the community on the rational use of drugs at the Essuehyia SDA Church, Essarkyir Methodist Church, Essarkyir Methodist Basic School and Ekumfi T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School.
The group also delivered health talks at the grand durbars by the chiefs and people of Esuehyia and Essarkyir communities on the occasion of Ahobaa festival, which took place on 10th June, 2022.
The students spoke on the dangers of self-medication, irrational use of drugs, antimicrobial resistance and Covid-19 vaccine hesitance.
The group also visited the Naakwa Polyclinic and the Ekumfi Juice Factory to familiarize themselves with the operations of the two facilities.
The Essarkyir group climaxed their activities with the donation exercise at the Esuehyia Health Centre and the Essarkyir Methodist Basic School.
On receiving the items, the Head of the Esuehyia Health Centre, Mr. Stephen Oteng, expressed his gratitude to the students for donating such drugs to the Health Centre.
He said, it will go a long way to help the facility meet their drug demands in their quest to provide optimum health delivery to the community.
He requested that more of such donations are welcome from the School and other charity organizations since many of their clients cannot afford the cost of their treatments.
The headmaster of the Essarkyir Basic School, Kenneth Archer, also thanked the students for the kind gesture.
The Ekumfi group was visited by a delegation from the office of the Provost of the College of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof. Martins Ekor. Dr. Stephen Ocansey, who led the team, admonished the students to give off their best to the various communities they will be posted to when they finish their studies.
Other members of the team were the College Finance Officer, Mr Acquah, and media personnel from the Documentation Unit of the University of Cape Coast.
Background
The School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (SoPPS) is a newly established school and one of four Schools in the College of Health and Allied Sciences (CoHAS).
The School was established in August 2018 to train students to obtain Doctor of Pharmacy degree (PharmD) in order to expand the healthcare delivery team of professionals. It is an undergraduate professional (first degree) programme.
The community-Based Experience and Service (COBES) programme is an important part of the PhramD curriculum, and it aligns with the School’s core aspiration to train high quality pharmacists who are sensitive to the community needs of their operational areas.
The programme aims to give students a strong community orientation and increase their awareness of the role of social, cultural, and environmental determinants of health, as well as the relationship between health, environment, and development. It is innovative, community-based, problem solving, and student centered.
This is the maiden COBES programme of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical sciences, University of Cape Coast.
The Ekumfi group was one of the 13 groups of students who were distributed to thirteen selected District and Municipal Assemblies in the Central Region of Ghana.
The group was made up of Agyei Andrew Kissi (Group Leader), Degley Priscilla Sedem (Assistant Group Leader), Amo Bright, Yankey Tracy Amewusika, Appiah Bernard Opare, Spio Isobel Ama, Sowah Tracy Naa Atswei, Nkansah Albert Qwamena, Agyei Obeng Maame Serwaa, Ahriyie Beatrice Ennin and Sebire Mavis Yenmah.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana