1st Lady, 2 Others Decorated With Honourary Degrees

The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has conferred honourary doctorate degrees on three “distinguished” Ghanaian women, including the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

The rest are former Speaker of Parliament, Rt Justice Adeline Bamford-Addo and former Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.

UPSA conferred the degrees on the three individuals who hold critical stakes in the country’s history on December 12, 2023, during the fifth Session of the University’s 15th Congregation with President Akufo-Addo as guest of honour.

The honour is a testament to their excellence spanning decades of unbroken professional and public service to Ghana.

For the First Lady, the University said the honour is in recognition of her exceptional visionary ideas and contribution to the development of the general well-being of women and children’s health and education through her Foundation- the Rebecca Foundation.

“Her passion for efficient healthcare saw her mobilise corporate Ghana through her Foundation to construct and commission a new Pediatric and Intensive Care Unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra in 2019. Mrs. Akufo-Addo also launched the ‘Free to Shine’ campaign, to stop mother-to-child transmission of AIDS, which corresponds with the Organisation of the African First Ladies campaign against HIV and AIDS.”

“At the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital(KATH), in Kumasi the same year, her Foundation established the ‘Save the Child, Save the Mother’ project, which is both a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). This project is expected to reduce maternal and infant mortality. and was supported by the Multimedia Group, KATH, Manhyia Palace, and the Government of Japan, among other social causes.”

As the first female Justice of Ghana’s Supreme Court and later Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Justice Adeline Bamford-Addo was rewarded for her professional and remarkable service in the public service in Ghana as the pacesetter in both the judiciary and legislature.

“Her rich experience and expertise contributed greatly to the drafting of Bankers:- Access Bank, UPSA Branch / Ecobank, Legon Branch / Bank of Africa, East Legon of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The first female Director of Public Prosecutions.”

For Her Lady Justice (Mrs.) Georgina Theodora Wood who made history as Ghana’s first and youngest Chief Justice, UPSA honoured for inspiring more women in Ghana and beyond to aspire for higher positions.

“Her Ladyship Justice Wood also laid a strong foundation for the judiciary of Ghana due to her niche expertise in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), which has served nations both near and far in immeasurable ways. Her visionary leadership, adoption of cutting-edge strategies to sanitize the judicial system, and commitment to women’s empowerment, demonstrate her relentless commitment to justice.”