The Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), the second largest Research Center in Ghana, celebrated its 25th anniversary under the theme, “25 years of Research for Life: Sustaining Global Health and Research in a Changing World”.
On 18th October 2022, the celebration started with a pre-anniversary program themed “Day of Science”, organized for 100 pupils in basic schools from class 4 to class 6 from six less endowed basic schools and wards of KCCR staff. The program aimed to expose the pupils to hands-on laboratory experience in Science and further give them a chance to conduct experiments in the laboratory to whip and improve their interest in Science.
The Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), the second largest Research Center in Ghana, celebrated its 25th anniversary under the theme, “25 years of Research for Life: Sustaining Global Health and Research in a Changing World”.
On 18th October 2022, the celebration started with a pre-anniversary program themed “Day of Science”, organized for 100 pupils in basic schools from class 4 to class 6 from six less endowed basic schools and wards of KCCR staff. The program aimed to expose the pupils to hands-on laboratory experience in Science and further give them a chance to conduct experiments in the laboratory to whip and improve their interest in Science. The main anniversary events took place from 29th November 2022 to 30th November 2022, with speeches, poster sessions, and a scientific symposium.
At the Opening Ceremony held on 29th November 2022 at The Great Hall on the KNUST campus in Kumasi many high-profile distinguished persons were in attendance. On this day, Nana Asantehene and Chancellor of KNUST, His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, The German Ambassador, His Excellency Daniel Krull and the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof (Mrs) Rita Akosua Dickson graced the occasion as the guest speakers. This event welcomed The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Francis Kasolo, the Presidential Advisor on Health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah and the entire University community.
In Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s speech, he congratulated KCCR for their great triumphs in the past 25 years in providing first-class academic training and advanced research in tropical medicine for a large number of promising local and foreign scientists. Otumfuo stated that the impact of COVID-19 in Ghana would have been worse if not for the significant output and immense dedication and resilience that KCCR showed during the pandemic. The Asantehene acknowledged the Ghana Ministry of Health, Past Vice-Chancellors of KNUST, Past Deans of the KNUST School of Medicine and Dentistry and International Partners for being visionary in establishing such an impactful research centre. He, therefore, charged the Government to pay more attention to research centres and address research capacity gaps as it forms the basis for the development of any country. More importantly, he pledged his unwavering support to KCCR with a sum of 1 million Ghana cedis as a commitment to ensure the continuous success of relevant research and further development at KCCR.
The Chairman of the BNITM, a member institution of the German Center for Infection Research, Prof. Jürgen May, stated that researchers from Ghana and Germany have succeeded in building a leading research institute in Africa with curiosity, ambition and high personal commitment. “We can only master the challenges for global health together, through equal research on an equal footing. We look forward to continuing our sustained collaboration with KCCR in this spirit”, he added.
One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was the commissioning of a new Building Block with an ultra-modern Biosafety Level 3 laboratory, 5 Biosafety level 2 Laboratories, a sequencing facility, a Bioinformatics room, a conference room, a teleconferencing room and 6 staff offices. His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II commissioned the building assisted by Ambassador Nana Effah Apenteng, the KNUST Council Chair, Prof (Mrs) Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor KNUST and His Excellency Daniel Krull the German Ambassador. This new building block was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim to help deal with new disease outbreaks.
Considering the importance of research and research-based education in Africa, a Scientific Symposium on the topic “Improving the Quality and Quantity of Scientific Research in Africa” was held on 30th November 2022. It focused on how to build a more qualified workforce and more sophisticated research infrastructure in Africa to improve research output. The scientific symposium comprised thought-provoking keynote presentations, scientific sessions and panel discussions. The two-day anniversary was crowned with an award ceremony at the Great Hall for those who made the best poster presentations on various projects running at KCCR and beyond.
The 25th KCCR anniversary celebration brought to the fore the importance of collaboration in research towards sustaining Global Health in a changing world, as in the theme of the anniversary.
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