President Mahama inducted as patron of West African College of Surgeons

President John Dramani Mahama has been invested as Grand Patron of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) in recognition of his visionary leadership in healthcare and commitment to expanding health infrastructure.

The honour was conferred during the 66th Annual General Scientific Meeting (AGSM) of WACS in Accra, where Professor Ibrahim Adamu Yakasai, President of the West African College of Surgeons, decorated the President and admitted him as an Honorary Fellow of the institution.
In his speech, President Mahama expressed gratitude for the recognition, saying it strengthens his resolve to support health education.

“The work of surgeons is inseparable from the health, dignity and productivity of our people,” he said.
With characteristic humour, the President reflected on his personal experience with surgical procedures: “I wonder if I actually deserve to be a Fellow of Surgeons. There’s this tradition where, increasingly, when your wife is giving birth, you are invited to attend. All our children had to go through caesarean sections, and as soon as the surgeon took the knife and started cutting, I ran out of the operating theatre.”

He added his appreciation for healthcare professionals: “You have saved many lives. May God bless you.”
President Mahama noted that as an institution affiliated with the West African Health Organisation, the College embodies the spirit of regional cooperation that ECOWAS must support.
The President commended volunteer surgeons for performing life-saving surgeries that have benefited 855 Ghanaians nationwide, pledging government support to cover the costs.
“We will take up that cost and still express our appreciation to you for what you have done,” he stated.
The week-long conference is being held under the theme “Capacity Building in Surgery: Developing the Next Generation of Surgeons in West Africa.”

Source: The Presidency, Republic of Ghana.