More biomedical engineers needed to improve patient care — Korea Foundation

There is the need for a holistic approach to advance biomedical engineering systems across Africa to ensure the maintenance of medical equipment and development of new technologies to improve patient care. 

The biomedical engineering process should start with the development of medical equipment, effective planning, purchasing, installation, maintenance and disposal systems.

At the 2024 Triangular Experience-Sharing programme, the Country-Director of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) Ghana Office, Bomin Yang,  said this would further build a more effective and efficient healthcare delivery value chain as the equipment maintenance was a significant link.

Triangular experience sharing

The week-long event, which is being held in Accra, is on the theme: “Building a strong biomedical engineering workforce through educational and industry partnerships.”

It is aimed to help build a stronger biomedical engineering workforce in Africa as well as foster knowledge exchange and collaboration among biomedical engineers from Ghana, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

It would also enhance cooperation between educational institutions and healthcare providers across the three countries to improve healthcare delivery and innovation in medical technology.

Commitment

The KOFIH Country-Director said the initiative formed part of their commitment to empower African countries in the field of healthcare technology, and the need for a holistic approach to advancing biomedical engineering systems across Africa.

“Biomedical engineers play a crucial role in maintaining medical equipment and developing new technologies to improve patient care,” he added.

Mr Yang reiterated that his outfit was determined to support sustainable healthcare initiatives in Africa and build capacity in biomedical engineering.

In line with that, he presented medical tools to 40 biomedical engineers.

Partnerships

A biomedical engineer from Tanzania, Chacha Said Mwita, called for collaboration with academia, industry, and the Ministry of Health to improve the biomedical engineering sector and enhance healthcare systems across Africa.

He urged them to come up with initiatives that would foster innovation and boost economic growth through healthcare advancements.

“Our goal is to build a workforce with the skills needed for an evolving healthcare landscape and to drive economic growth by commercialising health innovations,” Mr Chacha said.

Sharing insights into Tanzania’s biomedical engineering education, he said since 2017, Tanzania had produced 770 diploma, 140 bachelor’s degree and eight master’s degree graduates in biomedical engineering. 

Commendation

A representative of the Ministry of Health, Theodore Amponsah, also commended KOFIH for its commitment to enhance collaboration between biomedical engineering and healthcare innovation across the three beneficiary countries.

“By bringing together experts and fostering a network of collaboration, we hope to address challenges such as limited resources, lack of expertise and infrastructure gaps in the healthcare sector across these three African nations,” he added.