Basic Human Rights Education Programme for Health Professionals launched in the U/E

Narration: Professional nurses and midwives have been charged to exhibit professionalism in the course of their official duties by respecting the rights of their clients. The Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Richard Quayson who made the appeal said violating the rights of patients’ defeats tends to defeat the purpose of their noble profession as caregivers. Mr. Quayson was addressing students of the Bolgatanga Nursing Training College to officially the launch the Basic Human Right Training Programme introduced for health professionals in the Upper East Region. Correspondent Isaac Asare was there for Radio Ghana.
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With three broad mandates namely, human rights, administrative justice and anti corruption, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) was established under the constitution of Ghana by the CHRAJ Act 1993 (Act 456). As a national human right institution of Ghana, CHRAJ has the mandate to promote and protect the fundamental human rights and freedoms in Ghana. Aside its core mandate, CHRAJ performs other functions such as public education and awareness creation, as well as research and monitoring under its two broad areas which are promotion and prevention and protection and enforcement. Under its ombudsman mandate CHRAJ also educates the public to demand and hold public officials accountable in public administration. The rationale is to promote integrity in the public service and combat corruption in Ghana. However, the introduction of the human rights training programme for health professionals, according to Mr. Quayson, has become necessary especially in the light of the alarming rate of human rights violation and abuses in health facilities in the country. He tasked health professionals particularly nurses and midwives to show love, care and passion to their clients in the course of their duties adding that the human right course for health professionals has the tendency to raise the consciousness of students and practicing professionals to principles, concepts and values of human rights and also reduce human right abuses in the lives of students and practicing professionals. The introduction of the course he further explained is to promote a culture and passion of mutual respect and to encourage participation in national democratic process and governance at all level. Mr. Quayson mentioned Cape Coast and Ankaful Nurses and Midwives Training Colleges as true beneficiaries of the human right training programme which began six years ago. He said last year, 330 students from the two nurses training colleges received training in the programme and were later awarded certificates of participation during separate graduation ceremonies. The Deputy Commissioner advised student nurses to make it their business to fully participate and patronize the training when introduced in their colleges. He therefore pledged his outfit’s continual support to the programme. The Principal of the Bolgatanga Nurses Training College, Mr. Mac Musa Momin expressed profound gratitude to CHRAJ and the GHS for instituting the programme into their curriculum activities adding that the programme will help instill sanity in the profession and also deepen the culture of respect for human rights in all health facilities in Ghana. Mr. Momin urged his students to devote their time and give the training programme the best attention to make a difference in their professional career.