A four-member delegation from the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) participated in the Times Higher Education (THE) Sub-Saharan Africa Universities Forum held at Ashesi University in Accra on June 26. The forum culminated in the launch of the THE Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings during a dinner gala to crown the conference at the plush Kempinski Hotel in Accra.

The UHAS delegation included the Director of the Institute of Health Research, Prof. Margaret Gyapong, the University Librarian, Dr. Theresa Adu, the Incoming Director of Quality Assurance, Prof. Mahamudu Ayamba Ali and the Assistant Registrar at the Directorate of Quality Assurance, Mr. Hubert Mawuli Yevu-Agbi.

In a keynote address, the President and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation, Reeta Roy was optimistic that the Rankings would stimulate and lead discussions on the pertinent issues as to excellence in higher education and to help is shaping the discourse on resolving problems of Africa.

Chief Data Officer of THE Rankings, Duncan Ross, stated that Africa is better placed to make the world a better place and that “African Universities have a key to play” considering the ever-growing youthful population of the continent.

In his opening remarks, the Founder and President of Ashesi University, Patrick Awuah Jr. underscored the need for African Universities to collaborate to meet expectations of stakeholders in higher education, especially the teeming youth of the African continent.

The forum, which recorded attendance of leaders of top-notch Universities from many African countries, addressed some key issues with regards to higher education in Africa. There were several speakers including Prof. John O. Gyapong, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences. Prof. Gyapong advocated for all African countries to channel 1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) towards research. This, he believed, would make a lot of impact in the progress of African economies. He also impressed upon African Universities to focus on areas of impact making to enable graduates to be adaptive to the ever-changing world of work, citing the UHAS example of introduction of Functional French and Entrepreneurship into the curricular of the University.

This is the second year UHAS has participated in the THE rankings and performed creditably. In the recent Rankings released in June 2023, the University of Health and Allied Sciences placed first among Ghanaian universities in the THE Impact Rankings for SDG-3 category (Good health and wellbeing). The Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings are the only global performance tables that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).