The School of Pharmacy of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, will enroll its first batch of students for a Doctor of Pharmacy programme in August 2017. The programme will offer graduate pharmacists a two-year top-up course to enhance their knowledge and skills to fit well in the healthcare delivery system in Ghana.
The curricula for the doctorate programme will include grounding in science, laboratory- based practicals to support the theory, essential courses in humanities to understand the behaviour of people and the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

At the launch of the 10th anniversary of the School in Accra yesterday, the Ag. Dean, Dr. Isaac J. Asiedu-Gyekye, said the upgrade of the Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy had been long awaited and explained that the delay was to ensure that the School legally embarked on the programme with the approval of the University and other relevant regulatory bodies such as the National Accreditations Board NAB) and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE).
Activities outlined for the anniversary, on the theme: “A Decade of Excellence in Pharmacy Education”, include public lectures, seminars, games and an awards ceremony.
Dr. Asiedu-Gyekye said the official launch was meant to prepare the ground for building stronger and new partnerships with both external and internal stakeholders to enable the School achieve its aim of excellence and meet the changing trends of pharmacy practice.
“There is currently a shift in pharmacy towards a profession-wide, patient-centred practice and due to the shift, pharmacists are becoming more involved in patient-care,” he said.
He lauded the efforts of the founding fathers, stakeholders and individuals for embracing the challenge of developing strategies and policies that ensured a firm foundation for the School to meet its mandate.

For his part, the Ag. Provost of the College of Health Sciences of the University, Professor Richard Adanu, advised the Management and Staff of the School not to rely on fees for its development but rather do more to grow and shine in the University.
Unveiling the 10th anniversary logo, the founding Dean of the School, Professor A.C. Sackeyfio, supported by the founding School Officer, Mrs Bernice S. Tamakloe urged the School to ensure that there was development in the Pharmacy programme, especially in the area of production of local medicine.
He said Ghana should be able to manufacture medicines locally, adding, it is about time we included self-sufficiency in medicine development in Africa.”

The School of Pharmacy was established in 2007 as a constituent of the College of Health Sciences. It was located on the Korle-Bu Campus of the College of Health Sciences. However, in 2011, it was relocated to the Legon Campus where it has been since then.