Presenting a paper on the topic Sanitation in Ghana: Lessons from the past and the way forward on Day 1 of the 2019/2020 Reading Week and Colloquium held at the Phase 2 Auditorium of the University, the former Director-General of Ghana Health Service called for an effective mobilization and social action from all relevant stakeholders to address the sanitation problem.

Dr. Appiah-Denkyira said the deployment of appropriate technologies and effective social action through attitudinal change remains the key to curbing the social menace of sanitation in Ghana.

Giving participants an overview of sanitation reforms in Ghana, Dr. Appiah- Denkyira said although the colonial governments made good efforts in addressing the menace, it has continued to live with us and escalate by the day.

He expressed worry that though successive governments after independence have put in measures to address the situation yet the negative attitudes of Ghanaians continue to hinder the fight against the sanitation menace.

He highlighted that government through financing the various Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and the National Sanitation Day have yielded some considerable results, but there was more to be done.

He has, therefore, called on the political leadership to garner the strong will to punish offenders.

The Chairperson for Day 1, Prof. Festus Adzaku commended all the presenters for their insightful presentations. He was hopeful that the University will be proactive in championing the fight against sanitation as well as take the lead in advancing the call for social action and mobilization in order to end the menace.

The Reading Week is aimed at encouraging students to cultivate the habit of learning on their own by using the resources at the library as well as boost their research interests.

The Head of Research Innovation and Consultancy Centre of PUC, Rev. Prof Ivy Drafor-Amenyah, in an interview on Morning Express on Pentvars Radio, indicated that, the Reading Week is a way of giving students the room to read on their own and also provide the lecturers with some space to focus on their research and other matters in relation to academics.

鈥淲e鈥檝e put this together for students to learn some of their course content on their own without the supervision of the lecturer,鈥� she said. This, according, to her is a powerful way of learning.

The Faculty Colloquium is also to put Faculty members together and share parts of their research work with the university community. It will also help them receive feedback to improve on their research papers. The week-long summit being held at the Phase 2 Auditorium is expected to be attended by Faculty members, administrative staff and students.

Some topics to be addressed include Sanitation Problem in Ghana: Lessons from the Past and the Way Forward; Examining the Contribution of Organic and Fair Trade Practices to Poverty Reduction Among Farmers among others. There will also be a training workshop on Grantsmanship and responding to calls.

She further added that all students are expected to use the library facility to their benefit and not waste the week on other activities other than the Reading Week.