GCNM elects and inducts a new President from Pentecost University College

At its third Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoah Fetteh, the Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) elected and inducted into office a new President in the person of Dr. Mrs. Abigail Agartha Kyei, the Acting Head of Department of Nursing and Midwifery at Pentecost University College (PUC).

GCNM is a corporate body established under the Specialist Health Training and Plant Medicine Research Act 2011, Part 3 (Act 833) with a three-fold mandate to

• Promote specialist education in nursing, midwifery and related disciplines
• Promote continuous professional development in nursing, midwifery and related disciplines and
• Contribute to the formulation of policies to improve health outcomes and health generally

The College’s vision is to develop cadres of committed intellectual and skillfully competent contemporary nurses and midwives with specialized education to provide quality improved care. The College also believes that character alongside with intelligence is the goal of education and has as its motto Integrity, Professionalism, and Excellence.

The elections were conducted by the Electoral Commission of Ghana and with Dr. Mrs. Kyei as the only candidate, she was expected to gain at least 50% plus 1 of the total valid votes to be declared the winner. Out of 192 votes, 185 voted affirmatively for her and seven voted against her. She, therefore, won with an overwhelming number of votes (96%). Dr. Mrs. Kyei took over from Dr. Mrs. Jemima Dennis Antwi, the first President of the College who served meritoriously for two terms.

The new President, Dr. Mrs. Abigail Agartha Kyei, has over 30 years’ experience managing large-scale health programmes in several countries under the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), the Danish Development Agency (Danida) and the Malawian and Ghanaian Ministries of Health. She currently works as an independent consultant in Public Health, Midwifery, Maternal & Child Health and Health Management and is the Acting Head of Department in Nursing and Midwifery at the Pentecost University College at Sowutuom in Ghana where she lectures in Nursing and Midwifery-related courses.

Dr. Kyei is a Ghanaian by birth. She received her education up to undergraduate level in Ghana and despite her extensive travels for further studies and work outside her country in more developed countries, she is committed to rendering her services to the cause of women and children and the training of health workers, especially nurses and midwives, in developing countries, more especially in her home country of Ghana. A product of Wesley Girls High School where she received her secondary school education, Dr. Kyei’s first degree is in Nursing, from the University of Ghana and she holds Masters in Public Health (Maternal & Child Health Concentration) from the San Diego State University, California, in the United States of America (USA) and a Doctorate in Health Administration (DHA) from the University of Phoenix, in Arizona, USA.

In her acceptance speech after her induction, Dr. Kyei stated that her vision during her tenure of office is to support and provide leadership to the College to live up to its motto of Integrity, Professionalism and Excellence through a translation of the motto in the day to day lives of fellows and products of the College.

The Presidency of GCNM is a 3-year tenure renewable for two terms.