Published: 20 Mar 2017 Source: University Relations Office (URO)
The College of Health Science (CoHS) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch (SU) have decided to collaborate to host the 5th AfriNEAD Conference.
The 5th AfriNEAD Conference which will be held from the 7th to the 9th of August at the Saarah-Mensah Auditorium is a collaborative effort between the Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies (CEDRES), KNUST and the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD), Stellenbosch University. Information on the conference was made known when a delegation from AfriNEAD visited the office of the Vice-Chancellor of KNUST.
Dr. Anthony Edusei, leader of the local organizing committee, revealed that the CoHS had over the years held annual international scientific conferences and the network expressed the desire to hold an international conference at KNUST. The College therefore decided to merge its conference with AfriNEAD. The visit of the international organisers from SU was to meet the KNUST committee on preparation towards the conference. Dr. Edusei noted that KNUST was a member of AfriNEAD and had been attending its conferences on disability over the years.
Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso, the Vice-Chancellor, expressed his excitement about KNUST hosting the conference and pledged management’s support for the event. According to him many issues on disability have not been brought to the fore and it is a laudable effort to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the disabled for their development.
Professor Gubela Mji, Leader of the AfriNEAD delegation, stated that KNUST had collaborated with her outfit in diverse ways on disability issues over the years the network had also produced its own journal titled The African Journal on Disability (AJOD). She was confident that the conference would offer stakeholders the opportunity to champion the cause of the disabled as disability permeates all sections of society.
The conference will address health, educational, social, livelihood and empowerment issues of the disabled. Abstracts are therefore being invited. They should be forwarded to the following e-mail addresses: [email protected]@gmail.com or [email protected].
Other members of the delegation were Professor Theophilus B. Coffie, Lieketseng Ned, Chioma Ohajunwa and Hilary Lane.