25 years of tropical medicine research in Ghana
Anniversary celebration of the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) on 29 and 30 November 2022
The Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) in Ghana has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ceremony and a two-day scientific symposium. The research institution is jointly run by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the Ghanaian Ministry of Health and the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM). The basis of the joint venture is a state treaty concluded by the Republic of Ghana and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 1997.
Anniversary celebration of the KCCR
Anniversary celebration of the KCCR
Hundreds of national and international guests attended the ceremony in the Great Hall of KNUST. The highlight was the entrance of the King, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II. He is the Chancellor of the University and in his speech praised the KCCR for its excellent work during the COVID-19 pandemic, among other things. He also called on the Ghanaian government to invest more in health research. This was the only way to ensure effective surveillance of infectious diseases, he said. Otumfuo himself donated one million Ghana Cedis (about 90,000 euros) to the institute.
Other speakers were the WHO representative in Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo (keynote), the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Rita Akosua Dickson, the German Ambassador, H. E. Daniel Krull, Prof. Jürgen May and Prof. Bernhard Fleischer (Chairman of the Board and former Director of the BNITM respectively) as well as the Health Policy Advisor to the President, Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare.
Other topics were the quality and quantity of research in Africa and the importance of research institutions on the continent for its further health policy development. It became clear that research plays a key role for Africa to successfully combat neglected and poverty-related diseases in particular.
Here you can find the programme of the KCCR anniversary, consisting of a ceremony and a scientific symposium:
- Programme of the KCCR Anniversary Celebration ( PDF 5 MB )
Interview with Richard Phillips and Jürgen May
What does the 25th anniversary mean to the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR)? How has the research institution developed within this quarter of a century? And could the joint venture between the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, the Ghanaian Ministry of Health and the BNITM serve as a blueprint for Global One Health research cooperations between the Global South and the Global North?
Questions to the Scientific Director of the KCCR, Prof. Richard Phillips, and the Chairman of the Board of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Prof. Jürgen May.
Commissioning of the new building and symposium
Commissioning of the new building and symposium
After the ceremony, the Asantehene inaugurated the newly constructed building wing which includes another state-of-the-art safety level 3 laboratory. The so-called "outbreak preparedness block" also has BSL2 laboratories, equipment and infrastructure for molecular biological investigations and sequence analyses as well as meeting rooms and offices.
At the symposium that followed, internationally renowned scientists spoke about the latest developments in malaria research, immunology and resistance research, in research on river blindness, neglected tropical diseases, tuberculosis, corona viruses and emerging infectious diseases.
During a panel discussion, researchers debated how science can contribute to Africa achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- Flyer of KCCR ( PDF 955 KB )
