Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - Thirteen Ghanaian medical and dental doctors resident in the United Kingdom are in the country to embark on a two-week voluntary health service in six selected hospitals throughout the country.

The voluntary service, which is to give back to the society, is part of a project by the Migration Development Agency and International Organization on Migration (IOM) dubbed: "Brain Drain," aimed at meeting the health needs of the people. The hospitals to benefit from the project include Tamale, Sunyani, Komfo Anokye, Cape Coast, Atibie and Atua Government hospitals. The volunteers will do clinics, surgery, deliver lectures and organize seminars to give it a strong academic input for teaching and training.

Dr William Kedjanyi, leader of the Ghana Doctors and Dentists in UK (GDDA-UK) team, said the programme would be embedded into the locally driven programmes to address the service needs of communities. "It will also create an atmosphere of team work and thereby remove any fear and feelings of threats or mistrusts in the minds of local clinicians and health professionals that we shall be working with." He explained that the academic input was geared towards the provision of postgraduate revision and tutorials to prepare the candidates for their fellowship examination to become specialists. This will be done in collaboration with the University of Ghana Medical School, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Postgraduate programme coordinators and the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr Kedjani expressed concern about Ghana's maternal mortality and maternal health and said GDDA-UK would be setting up an Acute Life Support for Obstetrics, the first of its kind in the sub-region at the Korle-Bu, to save the lives of women.

Dr Gladys Ashitey, a Deputy Minister of Health, commended the team and IOM for the initiative and pledged the Ministry's support in ensuring that the volunteer work was successful.