Accra, June 7, GNA- International Aid, a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), and the Valley View University are collaborating efforts towards the training of bio-medical technicians from African countries.

This is to equip the trainees with the requisite skills to enable them to carry out repairs on medical equipments to enhance quality health services in health institutions in their various countries. The University for the past three years had offered training to 195 students who are now able to repair bio-medical equipments in the health institutions in their various countries.

Mr Bob Godwin, Chief Executive Officer of the NGO, disclosed these when he visited the University to inspect health equipment worth one Million dollars donated by the organisation to the educational institution. Dr Daniel Ganu, vice president of the University, in charge of general administration, took Mr Godwin round, said the educational institution intended to run a degree programme in bio-medical equipment technology. Dr Ganu said the university had officially applied to the National Accreditation Board and was waiting for the green light. He said the University had developed curriculum for the degree programme adding when approved more students would be trained in that field of learning.

Dr Ganu expressed his appreciation to the MGO for donating the equipment to the University saying students would get the opportunity to undertake intensify practical work. He said since the university began with the training programme, it had attracted participants from Ghana Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Chad, Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi

Mr Godwin said African governments spent huge sums of money on the importation of medical equipment for hospitals to improve health delivery but there were no technicians with the requisite skills to repair anaesthesia machines, incubators, microscopes, searching pumps, defibulators and other equipment.

He said "In our hospitals there are several equipment expensive equipments badly needed to keep patients alive which have been declared spoilt beyond repairs, but if we train our technicians they would be able to put them on track to save to save peoples lives. Mr Godwin expressed worry that most African said African countries had to send their broken down bio-medical equipment to manufacturing countries for repairs.

He said "Over 50 per cent of medical equipment world wide are not functioning, but when they are repaired they could enhance quality of services provided in our healthcare centres."

Mr Godwin interacted with 43 participants drawn from biomedical equipment departments of the hospitals all over Africa and told them that the NGO had so far spent 600,000 dollars on training programme. He said the NGO was committed to ensuring that people benefited from good health care services and called for more collaboration between the Ministry of Heath and various universities in the country towards training of more bio-medical equipment technicians, He said acquiring a new equipment was more expensive than offering training to technicians to repair equipments. Mr William Jenkins, a participant from Ghana said the training programme had improved his work as technician 7 June 08