Accra, August 8, GNA - The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) will on Thursday, August 12, confer on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Honourary Fellowship, which is the highest award of the society, as part of its 75th anniversary celebration slated for Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The number of programmes lined up from August 10- August 15, includes an outreach programme at Abono in the Bosomtwe District, an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and a Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), on the theme: "PSGH @ 75: Celebrating the Contributions of Pharmacists to National Development."
A statement issued by Mr Dennis Awitty, Executive Secretary of the PSGH in Accra on Sunday said the award to the Asantehene will be the highlight of the celebration.
Dr Alex Dodoo, President of the PSGH, said: "The anniversary is a time for sober reflection and further provides a unique platform for the society to plan ahead.
"There are a lot of challenges confronting the pharmaceutical industry as a whole and the PSGH in particular so the AGM, among other things will provide a unique opportunity for consensus building and developing new strategies," he said.
Dr Dodoo noted that Otumfuo Osei Tutu, the 16th occupant of the Golden Stool, goes down in history as the first person to occupy the position of Chancellor at KNUST, an institution which has been responsible for training of more than 90 per cent pharmacists in Ghana.
Until the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution, the position of Chancellor was the sole preserve of the Head of State.
The PSGH has a membership of 2,600, who are engaged in hospital pharmacy practice, community pharmacy, industrial pharmacy, drug regulation, academia and sales and distribution of medicines.
The society is represented on statutory boards and organisations such as the, Pharmacy Council, Council of the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine, National Health Insurance Council, Drug Classification Committee of the Food and Drugs Board, National Population Council, Various committees of the Ministry of Health and the Committee of Experts to Develop the National Health Insurance Scheme's Medicines List.
PSGH is a member of the International Pharmaceutical Federation, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association, African Pharmaceutical Forum, West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists and the Association of Recognised Professional Bodies.
The society has eight regional branches in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Region, Northern/Upper East/Upper West, Volta and Western.
It also has various wings and interest groups including the Lady Pharmacists Association of Ghana, Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association, Industrial Pharmacists Association, the Community Practice Pharmacists Association and the Association of Representatives of Ethical Pharmaceutical Companies.
The PSGH is the oldest health professional association in Ghana and currently operates from its National Headquarters at Baatsonaa, in Accra.
