Ensign Global College launches 10th anniversary - Calls on govt to stop galamsey menace

The President of the Ensign Global College at Kpong in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region, Professor Stephen Alder, has noted with concern the negative impact of illegal mining on communities and the country as a whole.

He said Ensign Global College, being a public health institution, was concerned and worried about illegal mining popularly known as galamsey and called on the government to pay heed to calls by the general public to bring an end to the menace.

Prof.  Alder, who made the call last Saturday at the launch of the 10th anniversary of the school at Kpong, stressed that “there should be precautions with regard to the issue of galamsey or illegal mining that was devastating not only the affected areas but the entire country.

He said with the Ensign Global College being a public health institution, its approach to the galamsey menace was very significant, asking “why should people who are part of the country or citizenry who know very well the implication of their ‘galamsey’ activities be doing it in the first place”?

He therefore called on the government to pay heed to the public outcry on galamsey which he said was a public health issue.

10th anniversary

The 10th anniversary, which was on the theme: “Celebrating a decade of educating professional and entrepreneurial leaders for prosperity” will be climaxed in November this year.

The Ensign Global College began as Ensign College of Public Health and was established in 2014. The new name reflects a broadening global engagement and expansion of its academic programmes and scholarship.

It is affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and also partners the University of Utah, Elon University, University of Oxford, Brigham Young University and many others.

Challenges

Prof. Alder said the college was now launching into broader public health topics such as health and safety and using a public health approach to respond to human trafficking, adding “it is also partnering other notable institutions on topics such as global surgery, business creation and medical innovation”.

Prof. Alder added that the college campus was also expanding with the recent introduction of the Centre for Leadership, Innovation, Prosperity plus a sport and fitness complex currently under construction. He announced that the college had received globally recognised accreditation by the US-based Council on Education for Public Health for its MPH degree programme.

A member of the College Board and a lecturer at KNUST, Prof. Daniel Anshong, in a solidarity message, also noted that the public health component of addressing the ‘galamsey’ menace was very important and called for a standardised way of illegal mining.

He said: “If our communities actually know the standardised approach of the mining, they will be able to prevent things that are associated with illegal mining challenges’’.

The Director of Africa Anti-Human Trafficking, Afasi Komla, lauded the college for its public health courses and their impact on society in general.

The Yilo Krobo Municipal Director of the Ghana Health Service, Irina Offei, said the college, since its establishment, had significant impact on the Krobo area with programmes such as Health2Go Project, annual breast cancer awareness, leadership corp programme, applied practice experience, maternity home project, menstrual hygiene among others.