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The Director of the National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr. Samuel Yao Ganyaglo, has called on stakeholders to build synergy to preserve water resources to avert the threat of water scarcity in the country.

He made the call on Tuesday at the opening session of a five-day isotope hydrology training organized by the Water Resources Research Centre of NNRI at Kwabenya in Accra.

The training is aimed at advancing water sustainability efforts in Ghana. It brought together participants from GAEC, the Soil Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Water Resources Commission, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fellow from Rwanda, as well as postgraduate students from University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

According to Dr. Ganyaglo, sustainable water management cannot be the responsibility of a single institution but should be a collaborative effort among stakeholders in leveraging their strengths to meet the water needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations.

“We should learn to identify and utilize each institution’s unique strengths because some are good at conventional technologies while others are good at nuclear technologies. By bringing these institutions together, we can create a team dedicated to the sustainable management of our water resources,” he added.

He asserted that water scarcity poses a significant threat to the nation’s development and the well-being of its citizens, and he added that collective action must preserve water resources for future generations.

” To effectively address this issue, we must work together as a team, pooling our resources, expertise, and knowledge for sustainable exploitation of our water resources,” he underscored.

Dr. Ganyaglo urged the participants to take the lessons seriously, utilize the knowledge they would acquire on isotope hydrology, device mechanisms or measures to exploit water sustainably and work together to help preserve the country’s water resources. “Thus, making water adequate for future generations to depend on,” he added.

Among the topics to be treated are data analysis and analytical methods using laser spectrometry, an introduction to stable isotope hydrology, water sampling for isotope analyses, dating groundwater with carbon-14 and tritium for recharge studies, and Bayesian models for contaminant tracing in water, among others.  The training program is being organized by the Water Resources Research Centre of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

By: CPRC, CCD

Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Overseas Limited signed a cooperation and framework agreement on the margins of the 26th World Energy Congress in Rotterdam for the construction of a HPR-1000 (Hualong One) Nuclear Power Project and the upgrade of Ghana’s grid. Ghana restructured its nuclear programme in 2008 to meet the expected increase in energy demand. Nuclear Power Ghana was established in 2018 as the Owner/Operator of Ghana’s first proposed NPP.

Based on support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), several countries have expressed interest in assisting Ghana in the development of its nuclear power programme, including China which has long-standing cooperation with Ghana in the fields of energy and commerce.

Speaking at a pre-agreement signing ceremony, Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh said the agreement represents a profound commitment to advancing Ghana’s energy sector, ensuring sustainable development, and meeting the growing demand for electricity. “Ghana is at a crucial juncture in its journey towards economic prosperity, and thus, the integration of nuclear power into our energy mix will play a pivotal role in achieving our goals,” he said.

CNNC President Yu Jianfeng commended the Minister for his leadership in the collaboration. “Any time we meet the Minister, we meet new energy and so I have no doubt that this agreement will yield fruits,” he said. NPG said the Government of Ghana continue to support the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme, which is under the Power Directorate at the Ministry of Energy by its active participation and funding.

Yu and Prempeh previously met during in December 2023 during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. The two then reviewed successful experiences of collaboration in microreactor projects and the conversion of miniature neutron source reactors. They also discussed their shared vision for further nuclear cooperation.

Source: Nuclear Engineering International

A six-month clinical training to enhance diagnostic radiology skills for medical physicists from Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, and Namibia has commenced in Accra.

Dubbed the “Technical Cooperation Group Fellowship on Clinical Training for Medical Physicists in Diagnostic Radiology,” it provides fellows with specialized training in the medical application of radiation physics to evaluate practices that involve medical exposure and optimize the physical aspects of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in terms of benefits and risks.

It also forms part of efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to address the shortfall of clinically qualified medical physicists with specialties in Africa.

The program is being hosted by the Medical Radiation Physics Center of the Radiological Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI) at the GAEC for the third time since 2019 under the auspices of the IAEA.

Among the topics to be treated are mammography, computed tomography, fluoroscopy, interventional radiology, dental X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound.

Speaking at the opening of the training, the Director-General of GAEC, Prof. Samuel Boakye Dampare, said that the training is one of the projects launched by the IAEA to enhance the capacity building of medical physicists to improve the safety and effectiveness of medical imaging.

“This is after the IAEA, through its programmes, identified a huge gap in the shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine in Africa,” he stated.

Prof. Dampare, who is also the National Liaison Officer (NLO) for IAEA in Ghana, explained that the project is being implemented under the African Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development, and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (AFRA) cooperation framework.

“Its objective is to improve the overall safety and effectiveness of nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology services in Africa through dose optimization and an appropriate quality assurance program conducted by medical physicists,” he said.

He indicated that, in pursuit of the project’s objective, the IAEA provided dosimetry laboratory equipment to some African member states to aid in measuring the radiation dose of persons exposed, as well as awarded fellowship training to 24 medical physicists in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine.

“These fellows, in 2021, were trained in three selected training centres: Ghana, Egypt, and Algeria, for a period of six months. Last year, Ghana hosted eight fellows from five African member states, namely Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, Sudan, and Tanzania, for a period of six months,” he stated.

Prof. Dampare expressed gratitude to the IAEA for the unwavering technical assistance to its African member states, which he said was crucial in helping member states acquire the requisite knowledge and skills in the application of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

He urged the participants to be agents of change to ensure the quality of care and improved patient outcomes, and transfer the knowledge they would acquire to their colleagues back home to help improve their professional competencies.

On his part, the Director of RAMSRI, Prof. Francis Hasford, commended the IAEA for the confidence it has reposed in the Institute to offer training in the field of medical physicists to its fellows for the third time since 2019.

“We see this as a great opportunity presented to us to enrich the skills of our African brothers and sisters, and we believe that the training will add value to their medical physics competencies,” he said.

The course supervisor, Dr Theophilus Sackey, complimented the participants for selecting Ghana as their preferred training destination.

He admonished them to keep and update their portfolios throughout the training, which he said was crucial. “A completed test and the procedures used to obtain the desired results must be documented and presented to the course facilitator to countersign. This will be a very useful document when you get back to your country,” he noted.

By CPRC,CCD

The School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has partnered with the French Embassy to train scientists and technicians in the Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulation Toolkit in Accra.

The Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulation Toolkit, a computer software, is used in scientific disciplines such as nuclear and accelerator physics, medical physics, and space science to understand the behaviour of particles in a variety of virtual situations without having to rely solely on expensive and time-consuming real-world experiments.

The five-day workshop organized for researchers, students, and professionals at the conference hall of SNAS from March 18–22, 2024, has the University of Paris Saclay and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) as other partners to ensure the successful dissemination and sharing of knowledge and skills on the software.

Addressing the participants at the opening ceremony, the Director-General of GAEC, Prof. Samuel Boakye Dampare, emphasized that the program resonated with GAEC’s vision of enhancing the computational skills of its technical and scientific staff.

“The Commission is particularly proud to be a collaborator on this project, as the project’s objective of equipping scientists and technicians in Ghana with relevant computational skills is very much in line with GAEC Management’s vision for its staff,” he said.

Prof. Dampare stated that the Commission’s research efforts over the years have had a significant impact on the nation in critical sectors such as health, food safety, agriculture, and the oil and gas sector.

He indicated that leveraging software tools like Geant4 would further enhance GAEC’s contribution to the socio-economic development of Ghana.

“We look forward to making more modern tools available to the global scientific community, including resorting to computer coding and simulations, especially in the era of the ascendency of artificial intelligence and improved computing power,” he added.

The project coordinator from the University of Paris Saclay, Dr. Daniel Adjei, stated that the launch of the Geant4 program in Ghana in 2022 was the first of its kind in Africa.

He noted that the workshop was made possible through GAEC’s show of interest and urged the participants to seize the opportunity to enhance their careers.

“By staying true to your shown interest, we are here again with the main developers of this code, through funding from the University of Paris Saclay, under the framework of the Direction des Relations et Internationales Européennes (DRIE). We have no other option than to take full advantage of this to make a career out of it and/or to use this powerful tool in our contemporary research,” he said.

One of the instructors leading the training session, Prof. Marc Verderi, Spokesperson of Great4, expressed gratitude to the participants for their keen interest in mastering the Geant4 Monte Carlo Simulation and assured them that they would be provided with hands-on practical training throughout the session.
“I encourage you to ask questions so that by the end of the training, you will be well-equipped to use the Geant4 toolkit,” he added.

By: CPRC, CCD

A capacity-building workshop for Medical Laboratory Scientists to effectively respond to epidemics of infectious agents and utilize molecular biology methods to improve their diagnosis in Ghana is underway at the Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, Accra.

The five-month program is aimed at improving the national preparedness of medical laboratory scientists towards the detection of infectious diseases like COVID-19 in case of future outbreaks in Ghana.

The workshop, organized by the Cellular and Clinical Research Centre of the Radiological and Medical Sciences Research Institute (RAMSRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), is being funded by the Ghana Skills Development Fund (GSDF).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, the Director-General of GAEC, Prof. Samuel Boakye Dampare, assured the participants of hands-on training, which he said would provide them with the necessary skills for both clinical and research pursuits.

“Available data shows that medical laboratories need technology, and laboratory personnel are happy to receive training in molecular diagnosis. Therefore, this short course has been designed to address the skills gaps, boost career progression, and create employment opportunities in the medical laboratory sector of the Ghanaian economy,” he stated.

Prof. Dampare urged the participants to take the lessons from the workshop seriously and contribute meaningfully to the health and well-being of Ghanaians.

On her part, the Course Coordinator, Dr. Edna Dzifa Doe, bemoaned the scarcity of medical laboratory personnel with the needed skills to apply molecular biology techniques to detect infectious agents, and attributed it to the insufficient number of universities and research institutions offering such relevant training.

“Research institutions or universities that provide or can provide hands-on training in the application of molecular biology techniques in the diagnosis and detection of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections in Ghana are few, and only a limited number of these institutions are engaged in providing this needed service,” she said.

Dr. Doe explained that the inadequate training of medical laboratory personnel in molecular biology techniques somehow hindered the country’s ability to manage the COVID-19 outbreak effectively.

“During this critical period, the entire nation had to rely solely on the Noguchi Memorial Institute for accurate testing, which slowed the process. By improving the skills of biomedical laboratory scientists through this workshop, we are strengthening our defenses and ensuring a more agile response to emerging threats” she added.

The Director of RAMSRI, Prof. Francis Hasford, expressed gratitude to GSDF for their sponsorship, which enabled the institute to acquire the necessary logistics to conduct the training.

The training workshop has five (5) modules in three (3) cohorts and is scheduled to end on the 26th of July 2024.

By: CPRC, CCD

President Nana Akufo-Addo says Ghana is envisioning nuclear energy to account for 30 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2070.

This would ensure the provision of clean and affordable electricity to drive the country’s industrialisation agenda.
“It is also meant to position Ghana as a net power exporter in the ECOWAS region through the West African Power Pool,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo made the statement when delivering the 2024 State of the Nation Address to Parliament.

He stated that his remark was an extension of what he said at the US-Africa Nuclear Energy Summit and the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Co-operation (IFNEC) Ministerial Conference, which took place in Accra in November last year.

“We have committed ourselves to the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” he added.

Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms in a reactor to heat water into steam, turn a turbine and generate electricity.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, nuclear is a low carbon emitting source of energy apart from being a clean, reliable, affordable, and modern energy source.

Available data indicates that the total installed capacity for existing plants in Ghana is 5,134 Megawatt (MW), with a dependable capacity of 4,710 MW.

Thermal generation accounts for the largest share of Ghana’s power generation, representing 66 percent, with hydro accounting for 33 percent.

Ghana’s thermal power generation is fuelled largely by natural gas, but occasionally using light crude oil and diesel. Ghana exports power to Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.
Source: GNA

Forty staff of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) have completed a four-day competency-based training (CBT) and its implementation process at a workshop in Accra last Thursday.

The workshop is aimed at enhancing the teaching abilities of GAEC staff as facilitators to provide learners with the appropriate knowledge and skills to efficiently perform workplace roles in industry and administration.

The National Nuclear Research Institute (NNRI) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) held a seminar for research scientists to bridge the gap between innovations and practical applications.

The objective of the seminar was to equip the researchers with strategies and insights to help navigate the path from laboratory discoveries to the commercialisation of their work.

In his presentation, the Director of Commercialisation and Communication Directorate (CCD) of GAEC, Nana Boateng, stated that scientists must brainstorm ideas that can be commercialised before the start of their research.

“Thinking about commercialisation early in the research process will encourage you to match your work with industrial or everyday use. This mindset will prompt you to identify potential implications of your findings in real-world scenarios” he said.

Nana Boateng emphasised the importance of intellectual property protection for researchers, particularly in fields as dynamic as those explored by the Commission’s research scientists.

“Patents are more than just legal safeguards; they are a strategic move to ensure that both innovators and investors can confidently and profitably engage in the development and commercialisation of game-changing technologies” he stated.

He urged the scientists to adopt the mindset of innovators and entrepreneurs in addition to being researchers.

“The scientists cannot do it alone. That is why it is important for them to collaborate with CCD so that we can journey with them from the beginning to ensure the successful commercialisation of their innovations and technologies” he added.

On his part, the Director of NNRI, Dr. Samuel Ganyaglo expressed his hope that the scientists would leave the programme with new insights into how to translate their research findings into useful innovations that will help grow the Ghanaian economy and GAEC in particular.

“Intellectual property (IP) and research commercialization are important topics to me as a scientist and Director. It’s clear from the information received from this seminar that we can profit greatly from intellectual property. We can make a lot of money if our scientists are able to patent their ideas and we have an IP policy in place that allows them to do so” he stated.

In his closing remarks, the Chairman for the day, Dr. Dennis Kpakpo Adotey expressed gratitude to the scientists for their participation in the seminar and urged the Director of CCD to collaborate with GAEC Management in the strengthening of the IP policy.

By CPRC/CCD, GAEC