UHAS mega-lab revival: Ghana’s largest medical training facility rises after 12-year wait

After more than a decade of delays, work has resumed on a sprawling 5,300-square-metre Laboratory Complex at the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Sokode campus — a project set to become the largest facility of its kind in Ghana and the West African sub-region.

President John Dramani Mahama inspected the newly completed facility on July 16, 2026, as part of his two-day “Resetting Ghana Tour” of the Volta Region. The President lamented that the project, which began in 2014, took 12 years to complete — a delay that significantly inflated costs.

“Ideally, this project should have been completed within the original timeframe set for its delivery. Unfortunately, delays have caused it to go beyond the expected completion period,” Mahama said. “If we had completed this project on time, we would have spent far less resources in bringing it to completion. But as they say, better late than never”.

World-Class Research and Training Hub

The five-block complex will house specialised research, anatomy, and radiology simulation labs, designed to accommodate over 1,200 students and staff. It shifts medical instruction from theory-based learning to high-value, hands-on training, with advanced simulation equipment preparing graduates to transition directly into the global medical workforce.

President Mahama described the facility as “probably the biggest laboratory complex in the sub-region”, equipped to support pathogen research and vaccine development, similar to the work done at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. The lab will work closely with the National Vaccine Institute to strengthen Ghana’s health security.

“Stronger research institutions are indispensable to improving healthcare delivery and national health security,” the President noted.

Economic Catalyst for the Volta Region

The project serves as a cornerstone of the government’s “Reset Agenda,” aimed at decentralising development and equipping Ghanaian youth with world-class practical skills. By offering diagnostic, toxicology, and research services to hospitals and private enterprises nationwide, UHAS will generate vital Internally Generated Funds (IGF) to sustain its high-tech equipment.

The lab is also expected to attract international students from across West Africa, given the Volta Region’s borders with Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The resulting influx of students, researchers, and medical clients will trigger a significant economic multiplier effect, boosting housing, transport, retail, and agriculture in Ho and surrounding communities.

Additional Infrastructure Commitments

President Mahama acknowledged other infrastructure needs identified by the university, including student hostels, lecture theatres, and a modern library. He assured university authorities that reforms to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) financing arrangements will make additional resources available for priority projects in public universities. The government is also considering upgrading the university’s internal road network.

Paying tribute to the late President Professor John Evans Atta Mills, under whose administration UHAS was established, President Mahama said the institution continues to fulfil its founding vision of becoming a centre of excellence in health sciences.

---

The University of Health and Allied Sciences is Ghana’s first public university in the Volta Region and the only state university wholly dedicated to health sciences training.