Administrator

The Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has presented personal protective equipment to three hospitals in Accra.

The gesture was done in collaboration with the Medical Physics Department of the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (University of Ghana) and the Physics Department of the University of Liverpool with the aim to help protect frontline workers against corona virus infection.

The hospitals, Ga East Municipal Hospital, GAEC Hospital and the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), at three separate ceremonies, took delivery of protective face shields and hand sanitizers.

Presenting the items on behalf of the Director General of GAEC, the Director of RAMSRI, Prof. Mary Boadu disclosed that, calls for identification of home-grown solutions in the fight of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the action by her outfit and supporting partners to undertake a project on the production of face shields for frontline health workers.

“Through the project, 3D printers were donated by the University of Liverpool to the partner institutions in Ghana to print face visors to support in the fight against COVID -19.” She was thankful to the University of Liverpool for their collaboration and singled out the efforts of Dr. Jon Taylor who is leading the project in the United Kingdom.

Prof. Boadu added that the sanitizers and reusable face shields were carefully produced to ensure the safety and comfort of users. She explained that, the shield can protect the pathways of viral entry, reduce the potential of the wearer from touching their face and serve as a reminder to maintain social distancing.

Receiving the items on behalf of Ga East Municipal Hospital, the Medical Superintendent Dr. Oduro Mensah was thankful to GAEC for the gesture. According to him, although number of active cases has been reducing, the COVID-19 infection cases may resurface, asking the general public to be cautious. He advised that the safety protocols are observed to avoided the spread of the virus.

The Medical Superintendent of GAEC Hospital, Dr. Anthony Quampah expressed gratitude at the gesture. He said, GAEC has remained generous at a period all donations have ceased. He expressed worry at how most patients have refused to seek professional medical care at the hospital due to corona virus scare. He urged Ghanaians to continue to seek professional medical care to avoid being misled by quacks.

Receiving the items on behalf of the University of Ghana Medical Centre, the Medical Director, Dr. Kwame Anim Boamah thanked GAEC for the donation and urged other institutions to continue to support since the virus is still in the system. He added that UGMC’s collaboration with GAEC will continue to greater heights.

By: GAEC Multimedia

Equipment worth about 100,000 euros were donated to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) on Tuesday to support the COVID-19 fight in the northern sector of Ghana.

This donation was done by GAEC on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as part of efforts to reduce the spread of the disease from animals to humans.

Receiving the items on behalf of the Minister, the Chief Director of the Ministry. Mr. Patrick Robert Ankobea was thankful to GAEC and the IAEA for this immense support to Ghana to help fight the disease and to reduce animal to human transmission.

He was also particularly grateful to GAEC for the immense technological support to the Ministry, throughout their years of collaboration helping them deliver on their mandate.

Mr. Ankobea said that most people are not aware of the major support the Veterinary Services Directorate has played in the management of COVID-19 in Ghana. “Our role has been to assist in the testing of samples taken from humans to check the infection or otherwise of the population and we have been doing so with the Noguchi Memorial Institute” he revealed.

He added that an ultramodern facility donated by the Canadian government has been in use in the testing of suspected COVID-19 cases and this equipment from GAEC is going to help boost their capacity.

“We all know that the COVID-19 has created a lot of anxiety and Ghana is fortunate and adjudged one of the countries to have managed it very well. It is because of gestures like these from you that it has been possible, and we are happy that the equipment is going all the way to Pong Tamale in the Northern part of the country, having already catered for the southern side”, he stated.

The Director General of GAEC, Prof. BJB Nyarko, in a short statement indicated that as part of the IAEA’s quest to contain the pandemic, the agency has assisted hundreds of laboratories around the globe with this nuclear driven testing technique called Real Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR). “The method is currently the fastest and most accurate for the detection of the SARS COVID 2 virus which is causing COVID 19”, he revealed.

Prof. Nyarko indicated that the equipment is capable of analyzing over 4,600 samples in a day. “This is the second time IAEA is donating this set of RTPCR COVID 19 testing equipment, accessories, quantities of consumables and other molecular biology reagents to the Ghana government and the people of Ghana” he added.

He further indicated that the first equipment was donated to the Ministry of Health and was taken to the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho.

“It is of interest to note that the donated equipment by the IAEA through the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission is worth over 100000.00 Euros. The other one to the Ministry of Health was about 98,000.00 Euros, so the two equipment is about 200,00.00 Euros” he said.

In his closing remarks, Prof Nyarko indicated that this donation by the IAEA is part of a project known as the Zoonotic Diseases Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative, launched in June, 2020. He opined that the main objective of the ZODIAC project is to support IAEA member states to prevent future pandemics resulting from the spill-over of pathogens from animals to human populations. “The ZODIAC initiative will help member states to rapidly detect and respond to outbreak of such diseases”, he revealed.

By Corporate Affairs, GAEC

The Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) in partnership with the Creative and Multimedia Team (CMT) of the Technology Transfer and Marketing Centre (TTMC), both of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), has initiated a project to promote research-proven practices in farming.

The move is targeted at reaching out to active and potential farmers to adopt effective, research-proven farming methods, beginning from seed handling to harvesting, including pest and disease management as well as postharvest processing of farm produce.

The project involves extensive video production of practical demonstrations of scientific activities at the BNARI in both field and laboratory by the CMT. Accordingly, Dr. Michael Osae, Director of BNARI, has outlined and recommended some commercially viable technologies which can benefit farmers enormously and improve their livelihoods. These including protein bait, cassava cultivation and radiation processing for postharvest management technologies.

Dr. Osae has further indicated that the current BNARI–CMT initiative will draw people’s attention to the in-depth research work carried out by his outfit to ensure standard and healthy farm practices. He is of the view that most unacceptable farm practices that result in poor yields and negative impact on the environment could be corrected through this project or initiative. He has added that BNARI will organise training programmes for interested persons who would seek further knowledge.

Ms. Sheila Frimpong, Manager of TTMC who doubles as the leader of CMT, has disclosed that the initiative will be replicated for every commercially viable technology available in all GAEC institutes. This, according to her, would help market the various technologies as a means of building new revenue streams or expanding the revenue sources of GAEC to support its activities and remain competitive.

Ms. Frimpong has hinted that there is a possibility of promoting the video contents on traditional media (e.g. television) aside the provisions made to carry out extensive promotions on all social media platforms.

By: GAEC Multimedia

The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and CAMFED Ghana have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to train young women in technical and vocational skills.

This forms part of the Young Africa Works Strategy programme funded by the Mastercard Foundation and CAMFED Ghana with expectations to train a maximum of 3,250 young Ghanaian women.

CAMFED Ghana, a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) that was established in Ghana since 1998 has offered educational support to young girls in rural areas from basic to Tertiary school level across 12 regions of Ghana.

In a ceremony held at GAEC to seal the partnership, Mrs. Sally Ofori-Yeboah National Director for CAMFED said, the project’s primary objective is to empower deprived young women between the ages of 18 to 35 with work-readiness skills to be self-reliant. She added that, the trainees will be provided with start-up kits or seed fund to commence business after the training.

Mrs. Ofori-Yeboah explained that, modalities for selection requires research, interviews and other processes to identify the trade areas where females mostly require support. She is confident that the partnership with GAEC will yield a positive result. “After a thorough research and facility inspection, we found GEAC worthy to partner with on this project and we believe that with their high level of experience and expertise, the project will realise its objectives.

Prof. Dede Shiloh Osae, Deputy Director General of GAEC on his part said one of GAEC’s core objective is to offer training to persons of interest in various fields. He added that GAEC has in the past years engaged in collaborations with various local and international organizations in industry and academia to solve national issues using Nuclear Techniques.

He further assured that, the GAEC/CAMFED collaboration will live to expectation. “The doors of GAEC are widely opened for any form of Public Private Partnership that aims at national development”. He concluded.

Ms. Sheila Frompong, Manager of Technology Transfer and Marketing Centre (TTMC), GAEC in an interview disclosed that the programme will run for a period of three years and will adopt market-driven approach to science and technology research at GAEC through competency-based training to improve and empower young women for socio-economic development.

She finally called on deprived young women who are passionate about acquiring a Technical and Vocational skill to take advantage of the opportunity to become self -reliant.

By: GAEC Multimedia

The Chief of Assin Asamankese Traditional Area, of Assin Apemanim Paramountcy, Obrimpong Toku Dum VIII, was out doored to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) this morning in a short ceremony held in the office of the Director General, GAEC.

Mr. Eric Aggrey, a Research Scientist and Manager of Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics Center of the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI), who is now the Chief of the Assin Asamankese Traditional Area was introduced by Prof. Dickson Adomako, Director of GSSTI.

Speaking at the programme, Prof. Adomako, indicated that it was essential to present the newly crowned Chief to the Director General and GAEC as a whole. “We have already been to the Minister and it is now time to present our Chief to the Director General”, he added.

By: Corporate Affairs, GAEC

The Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR), Mampong Akuapem, have engaged in advanced talks for collaborative research on large-scale production of seedlings of Capparis erythrocarpos Isert, an important medicinal plant used in the management of rheumatoid arthritis in Ghana.

The research project is expected to foster collaboration between the two institutions, build capacity, and lead to the transfer of technology in the use of Plant Tissue Culture for large-scale propagation of important medicinal plants in Ghana. In addition, the collaboration will facilitate the exchange of scientific ideas and expertise in other areas of interest.

In a brief meeting held at the CPMR to strengthen/formalize this partnership, the Director of BNARI, Dr. Michael Yao Osae, expressed confidence that this project would encourage collaboration and facilitate the exchange of scientific ideas in other areas of mutual benefits to both institutions. He pointed out that besides plant tissue culture, the Gamma Irradiation Facility (GIF) at BNARI-GAEC is capable of sterilizing and preserving food and medicinal products to improve safety and extend the shelf-life. This technology will be of immense benefit to the CPMR and small-scale producers of traditional herbal medicine in Ghana.

The Acting Executive Director of CPMR, Dr. Kofi Bobi Barimah, disclosed that the use of plant tissue culture for mass production of C. erythrocarpos seedlings would encourage large-scale cultivation, eventually boosting production of “Sirrapac”, an important herbal medicine used for the management of rheumatoid arthritis in the clinic at CPMR. According to him, this partnership can be extended to solve cultivation challenges associated with other medicinal plants used for herbal medicines at CPMR. Mr. Tony Asafo-Agyei, a research scientist and head of the Plant Development Department (PDD) of CPMR who initiated discussions leading to the collaboration, was present at the meeting together with the Deputy Executive Director, Dr. Alfred Ampomah Appiah.

Dr. Wilfred Elegba, a research scientist at BNARI and leader of the project team, is working with other scientists from BNARI and CPMR to enhance the large-scale production and cultivation of C. erythrocarpos to meet the demand for “Sirrapac” production and for other medicinal uses. He reiterated the need for collaboration and partnership between research and teaching institutions/universities in Ghana to facilitate the development of innovative solutions to address challenges in agriculture.

Over the last two decades, BNARI has played a pivotal role in the development of plant tissue culture protocols for mass production of clean planting materials for food crops such as pineapple, plantain, sweet potato, sugarcane, and medicinal plants such as Aframomum melegueta (alligator pepper) and Phyllantus niruri (Awommaa guwakyi).

By: GAEC Multimedia/TTMC

The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has extended its appreciation to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the logistic support to beef up its capacity in the fight against the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As part of an initiative by the IAEA to help its Member States to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of laboratories around the world have been presented with a nuclear-derived testing technique called real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR). This method is currently adjudged by scientists as the fastest and most accurate for the detection of the SARS-COV-2 virus, which is causing COVID-19.

UHAS through the efforts of GAEC on May 14, 2020, took delivery of a € 98,000 Euros worth of COVID -19 testing equipment donated to Ghana by the IAEA. The items include a COVID-19 Positive control, MIC-PCR System, Eurofins Genomics, MIC-4, TaqMan Fast Virus Master Mix, Class III Biohazard Safety Cabinet, and a Class II Biological Safety Cabinet, PCR workstation.

In a follow-up visit to UHAS, a delegation from GAEC on behalf of the IAEA met with the university’s COVID-19 select team to observe the extent of work done regarding equipment installation and use of donated items.

Prof. John Owusu Gyapong, Vice-Chancellor of UHAS, in a brief meeting with the GAEC delegation, disclosed that his outfit is able to deliver results of samples received from the Volta and Oti regions within a period of 24 to 48 hours. According to him, this has eliminated the worrying backlog situation in the regions. “Initially we had 16 wells for sample processing and receiving an additional 48 wells has fast-tracked the process. Additionally, over 12000 samples have been tested and this has been made possible partly due to the donation by IAEA and we are very grateful,” he added. Prof. Gyapong appealed to the IAEA and GAEC to further support the University of Health and Allied Sciences with a -80^oC freezer that would beef up their sample storage capacity since they are faced with difficulties managing the storage of their samples.

On behalf of Prof. B.J.B Nyarko, Director-General of GAEC, Dr. Shiraz Issahaku, Research Scientist and Dr. Adolf Kofi Awua, Senior Research Scientist and Centre Manager with the GAEC Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI) expressed utmost satisfaction at the extent of work done by UHAS.

Dr. Issahaku acknowledged that IAEA is a UN Agency, and part of its objective is to ensure that Member States benefit from this type of initiative during pandemics of this proportion. He added that the IAEA has been of immense support to Ghana in the areas of training and capacity building programs as well as the donation of high-level equipment to facilitate research works in the fields of Health, Nuclear Science, and Biotechnology.

After an extensive tour of the laboratories, Dr. Adolf Kofi Awua on his part commended Dr. Kwabena Duedu, Biomedical Laboratory Scientist in Charge of the COVID 19 testing Centre who doubled as the Coordinator of the UHAS COVID-19 team and also Prof Richard Harry Asmah, Dean of the School of Basic and Biomedical Sciences and the entire team for living up to expectation.

He finally encouraged the UHAS team to keep up the good work till Ghana wins the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

By: GAEC Multimedia/TTMC

The Management of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has congratulated outgoing Director of Administration, Mr. Felix Adeku, on his achievements and dedication to work over the past years in office.

In a short ceremony held at the GAEC Guesthouse in Accra to mark his 60^th birthday anniversary as well as bid him farewell on his retirement, Professor Benjamin J.B. Nyarko, Director-General of GAEC, recounted difficult times they shared together. He described Mr. Adeku as a comforter and a confidant whose judgment during critical decision-making moments always prevailed.

According to Prof. Nyarko, the Director’s endurance to pressure at all times, including odd hours, was amazing and stemmed from his passion to see GAEC succeed. He described the Director’s retirement as an enviable one, adding that “a leader’s struggle is real.”

The Deputy Director-General of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), Prof. I.J.K Aboh, extended his appreciation to the wife and children of the Director of Administration and commended them for their unprecedented love, patience, and support for the Director during his active years in office.

Prof. Aboh who was once the Deputy Director-General of GAEC disclosed that Mr. Adeku worked tirelessly from one institute of GAEC to another to restore peace and good interpersonal working relationship among the staff. He added that Mr. Adeku had a unique and subtle way of addressing issues, regardless of their complex nature.

Mr. Felix Adeku joined GAEC in 1992 and served for 28 years in various capacities. He served as a Scientific Secretory at the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI), Director of the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI), Head of General Services, and finally retired after serving for 8 years as Director of Administration.

He was presented with a citation by GAEC Management and the Technology Transfer and Marketing Centre (TTMC), respectively. Additional items that were presented to him as a sign of gratitude by the GAEC Secretariat, Welfare and Pensions Department included a 48-inch smart television, a refrigerator, and an air conditioner.

On his part, Mr. Adeku expressed joy at the love and support shown him by Management and the entire staff of GAEC throughout his stay in office. He was confident that the competent and hardworking staff of GAEC would continue to work in line with the vision of GAEC to achieve milestones.

Mr. Adeku ended with a Bible quotation from Romans 10:11 – 13 and prayed for the peace of God to lead staff and GAEC to success.

By: GAEC Multimedia/TTMC

“In addition to healthcare and laboratory use of face shields, promotion of community intervention through wearing of face shields in combination with nose masks at schools, market places, churches, mosques and funeral gatherings should be encouraged for dealing holistically with the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana”.

A statement made by Dr. Francis Hasford, project team leader, in an interview as he stressed the importance of face shields for Ghana’s fight against Covid-19.

Adding, he indicated that personal protective equipment such as face shields and nose masks have become highly important in the fight against Covid-19.

“Face shields offer several advantages and a great need for the containment of Covid-19”, he elaborated.

He explained that Coronavirus disease 2019, otherwise called Covid-19, is a highly infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The disease has ravaged the entire globe and most people who fall sick with COVID-19 experience mild to moderate symptoms of fever, fatigue, dry cough, myalgia and dyspnea.

“Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer, however, have high tendencies to develop serious to critical illnesses, of which fatalities are very common” he warned.

He indicated that with calls for identification of home grown solutions such as local production of cost-effective personal protective equipment to aid in the fight of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Medical Radiation Physics Centre (MRPC) of the Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI), of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, has successfully undertaken a project to produce face shields for staff of GAEC, health workers and the general public.

Finally, he opined that face shields are comfortable to wear, protect the pathways of viral entry, and reduce the potential of the wearer from touching their face.

“They can be reused indefinitely and are easily cleaned with soap and water. People wearing face shields do not have to remove them to communicate with others. The use of a face shield is a reminder to maintain social distancing and allows visibility of facial expressions and lip movements for speech perception”, he stressed.

On her part, Prof. Mary Boadu, Director of RAMSRI, appealed for funding and logistical support from Government and stakeholders to position Ghanaian scientists to produce research outcomes that can solve our local needs.

“One positive thing about Covid-19 pandemic is that we are being forced to innovate and produce locally, and to consume Made-in-Ghana products. Given the necessary support and funding, scientists in Ghana can address numerous challenges that the country has had to seek solutions to from overseas”, she concluded.

By: Corporate Affairs, GAEC