Students of BNTC Graduate in Basic Human Rights Course

Bolgatanga, July 20, GNA - Sixty-three final year students of the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College on Wednesday graduated in a Basic Human Rights Course aimed at curbing human rights abuse of patients at health facilities in the country.

The nine-week course, organized by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative of Justice (CHRAJ) equipped the trainees with human rights knowledge to enable them to appreciate the rights of patients.

It also improved their capacity to promote and protect the rights and freedoms of patients, as well as the vulnerable in the society.

Mr Richard Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ in charge of Public Education and Anti-Corruption, stated that the course which was piloted in Central Region for six years, chalked a lot of successes and that was why it was being replicated in other regions including the Upper East Region.

He challenged the participants who were awarded with certificates to put into practice the knowledge they had acquired during the course, at their various duty stations in future.

“The right to health is recognized by various Human Rights Instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is the foundation of all human rights”, the Deputy Commissioner emphasized.

Mr Quayson told the student nurses that the right to health, which was the fundamental one on which the right to life in general depended, would be meaningless unless there was a mutual understanding between patients and healthcare providers.

“It is against this background that CHRAJ is extending its promotional activities to healthcare providers by introducing the Basic Human Rights Course in Health institutions across the country”

The Regional Director of CHRAJ, Mr Kenneth Adabayeri, said the participants who were third year students, were taken through topics such as the Introduction to Fundamental Human Rights, Human Rights and National Instruments; Further Understanding of Human Rights and Theory and Practice.

Others were Human Rights in the Health Profession, Rights and Responsibilities in the Work Environment and Human Rights in the Domestic Arena.

He noted that in addition, the participants were engaged in practical assignments as part of the qualification for the award of Certificates, and said the programme which had become part of the curriculum of health institutions would be extended to the Midwifery Training and Community Health Training Schools in the Region.