The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has inaugurated five laboratories.

They are the Graduate Research Laboratory for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences, the ZebraFish Laboratory and the Imaging Stimulation Laboratory.

The rest are the UHAS Counselling and Wellness Centre and the UHAS Dental Centre.

UHAS also launched a monthly e-newsletter to provide the university community and the public with issues at the institution.

The ‘UHAS Bulletin’ will share updates on university events and promote administrative decisions, governance and institutional performance of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, Professor Lydia Aziato, who inaugurated the laboratories, said the new facilities bore testimony to the progress of UHAS as a research and practical-oriented health education institution with a focus on community service.

The Volta Regional Deputy Director of Care (DDCC), Dr Alphonse Makafui Dzakpasu, in a contribution, described the inauguration of the laboratories as a great milestone in the history of UHAS, going far beyond an institutional achievement.

Access

He said the dental clinic, for instance, would expand access to oral health services, an area where the region had often experienced gaps.

“Patients who previously travelled long distances for specialised care can now receive quality service closer to their home,” Dr Dzakpasu added.

He said the counselling centre would definitely help to provide vital psychological and emotional support, helping patients, students, and staff to cope better with distress, mental health conditions and demands of modern life.

The DDCC said the facilities commissioned represented a bridge between academia and service delivery, ensuring that what was taught and researched translated into better care for patients across the Volta Region and beyond.

Dr Dzakpasu said findings and innovations from the laboratories would directly inform better diagnosis, treatment and preventive care for the people.

The laboratories, he said, were an advancement for the region, Ghana, and most importantly, for patients and communities.

He congratulated UHAS for launching the bulletin, which he said would serve as a channel for knowledge sharing and innovation, and keep the health system and the academic community in constant dialogue.

The UHAS Registrar, Yaa Amankwa Opuni, who launched the newsletter, said it would celebrate milestones, awards and contributions of individuals and groups within the university to motivate continued excellence and involvement.

“We must make the public aware of what goes on here,” she added.