One hundred and forty Primary Healthcare workers and tutors from KNUST-Affiliated health training institutions are receiving Train the trainer training in health entrepreneurship.

The programme organised by KNUST Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative in partnership with Mastercard Foundation is being held simultaneously in 3 regional capitals including Sunyani, Tamale and Takoradi.

The fortnight event spearheaded by the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar of the KNUST Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative seeks to empower Primary Healthcare(PHC) workers and Tutors of Nursing and Midwifery Institutions to nurture potential entrepreneurs to build resilient health ventures in Ghana.

The primary objective of the KNUST Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative is to build and strengthen the capacity of Health care students and professionals to meet growing demand for Primary Health Care in Ghana.

Under the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar, 355 Train the Trainers at 77 KNUST affiliated Health Training institutions as well 560 public-private PHC workers will be trained with the potential to reach over 24,000 young people during the first phase.

The Principal Investigator, Prof. Ellis Owusu-Dabo said the training will address shortfalls in the health entrepreneurship sector in addition to engendering injection of innovation and creativity into the sector.

"The training is a combination of health collaborative social skills and health enterprise Development modules tailored to suit the current gaps in health entrepreneurship," he said.

The Health Entrepreneurship pillar lead, Prof. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah added: "With our user-friendly and learner-centred curriculum, the health entrepreneurship is envisioned to help health graduates and workers acquire skills to kick start and enhance their health business. More importantly, special emphasis is placed on youth and women entrepreneurs such that they are supported to initiate and embark on high growth potential and scalable health business."

The primary Health care participants who are from district hospitals, health centres and CHPS compounds will be supported to provide the needed entrepreneurship training to the staff at the sub-district and CHPS compounds among others. This will produce entrepreneurial mindset, creativity and health business start-up among them.

Similarly, their Nursing and Midwifery training tutors are expected to offer a bespoke entrepreneurship training to the nursing and midwifery students in their respective institution with the supervision of staff from KNUST Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative staff.

The participants will be taught courses such as enterprise development and youth employment, health entrepreneurial risk among others 

The participants were expectant of acquiring essential entrepreneurial knowledge to pass on their peers.

"I’m expecting this training will broaden our knowledge on where we should invest so that it benefits the facility and the people,” said Michael Kumi Badu, administrator of Fatima Health Centre.

“I want to have more knowledge so that I can help my staff to build themselves,” said Anabia Ralph-Martin of Pope Francis health Centre.

Daniel Agyei Marfo of St Dominic Clinic added: “I’m expecting I’ll acquire more knowledge so that I can train people to become great health entrepreneurs to curb the brain drain menace.”

Deputy Director of Nursing Services at Kwadaso Municipal Health Directorate, Ms. Vivian Hickson Asirifi was hopeful: “to grasp as much as possible all the knowledge in health entrepreneurship and link up with other staff members to benefit from this programme.”