Accra, July 16, GNA - A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was on Monday signed between the Ministry of Health and the University of Ghana, Legon to award diploma to nurses after their training. The MOU was signed by Professor Albert George Amoah, Provost, College of Health Sciences and Mr. A .T Konu, Registrar, for the University and Dr. Gladys Norley Ashittey, Deputy Minister of Health and the Lepuwura Alhaji M. N Jawula, Chief Director, MOH.

The agreement marked the end of a long struggle over the accreditation and award of diploma of the MOH's Nursing Trainings. Dr. Norley Ashittey explained that an agreement had finally been reached to allow the University to give top-ups to the qualified back-log of six batches of the over 3,000 Nursing students and further award them diploma certificates to boost their confidence in practicing the profession.

She gave the assurance that the MOH was doing all it could to ensure quality training of health professionals in the country. She thanked the University for its co-operation and said the Ministry would make sure that the requisite infrastructure were provided for all the Nursing Training institutions in the country. Prof. Amoah, indicated that the top-up programme had already started and the process would continue till all the students received their full diploma certificates.

Alhaji Jawula cautioned the Nurses not to leave the country for greener pastures but to exhibit high sense of devotion and loyalty to the county.

He said the issue of bonding would now seriously be applied as a check to the issue of brain drain of health professionals to other countries.