The Mastercard Foundation Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, has selected fourteen (14) Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to participate in the maiden Medicine Counter Assistant (MCA) Training Programme.
The training was part of activities under the Health Ecosystem Pillar of the Collaborative led by Dr. Joseph Owusu to train qualified and highly motivated PWDs into skilled, competent, and entrepreneurial pharmacy support staff of national relevance.

In his welcome remarks, Professor Samuel Asare-Nkansah, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, emphasised that the training is the only programme in the country designed to equip PWDs to become Medicine Counter Assistants. He stated that the participants would be trained with modules such as Ghanaian sign language for health communication, industrial pharmacy, entrepreneurship, among others. He added that the training programme will include a 3-month mandatory internship in a designated health facility. He advised the participants to put in maximum effort and be committed during the course of their training and assured them of adequate tutelage towards their licensure examinations.

The Principal Investigator (PI) of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative at KNUST, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, highlighted the numerous opportunities available to participants. He stressed that the opportunity given to them would transform them from their current situation to a position of value addition to better their lives and their dependants. He encouraged participants to be resourceful and seize the opportunities available to change their world.

Dr. Daniel Amaning Danquah, Deputy Registrar of the Pharmacy Council of Ghana, expressed his excitement for the realisation of the idea of training PWDs to become Medicine Counter Assistants. He urged participants to fully engage in the programme, strive for excellence, and leave a legacy for future generation. He further charged them to leverage the opportunities presented to widen their prospects.