DABCS Won Hilton Foundation Africa Water Quality Testing Fellowship of 249,778 USD

The Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science has won the Hilton Foundation—Africa Water Quality Testing Program as part of Aquaya’s grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.  The Aquaya Grant worth Two Hundred and Forty-Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Eight Dollars (US$249,778) covers the one-year conceptualization and pilot of the Hilton Foundation—Africa Water Quality Testing Program from November 1, 2021-October 31, 2022. The expected duration of the full fellowship is November 1, 2021 to June 30, 2026, with an initial one-year pilot.

The Fellowship program is centered on providing resources and opportunities for practical skill acquisition in water quality testing. It involves DABCS supporting and training promising undergraduate and graduate students in water quality analysis.  Additionally, DABCS will conduct semiannual water quality monitoring and trend analysis at the community, household, and institutional levels in Asutifi North and Wassa East Districts in Ghana.

Two other universities that have benefited from the one-year pilot of the Aquaya grant are the Makerere University in Uganda and Bahir Dhar University in Ethiopia.

At the University of Ghana, the fellowship will be managed by Prof. Rosina Kyerematen (PI), Prof. Francis Gbogbo, Prof. Erasmus Henaku Owusu, Dr. Juliet Ewool, Dr. Emmanuel Robert Blankson and Dr. Jones Kpakpa Quartey.