Rev. Prof. Andrews Seth Ayettey, MD, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board KBTH, Accra, Ghana
Growing up in Ghana
Seth is a name often given to Ghanaian infant boys whose firstborn brother was predeceased. This was the case with the birth of Seth Ayettey. Born October 10, 1945, Seth had numerous challenges as a child. At the age of 2, he struggled with knocking knees from lack of a vitamin D deficiency. At the age of 11, typhoid fever nearly claimed his life. At Middle School, a deep wound on the sole of his right foot was dressed with sand by his colleagues and bandaged to control the bleeding. Little did he or his schoolmates realize that this treatment was a recipe for tetanus. Fortunately sent home the following day, his parents applied local treatment by dripping hot palm oil into the wound from a red-hot knife. This intervention, crude as it was, saved Seth’s life. In 1959, he survived a near-fatal road traffic accident.
Anatomist
Seth’s early education began at Osu Salem Presbyterian Middle Boy’s School followed by Adisadel College at Cape Coast. His life experiences influenced his decision to pursue a career in medicine and subsequently he attended the University of Ghana in 1967. At the completion of the Basic Sciences courses, he was recommended for a one-year intercalated BSc course in Anatomy by the external examiner in Anatomy, Professor Ruth E.M. Bowden of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine of the University of London. The Dean of the Medical School, Professor Charles Odamtten, Seth’s uncle together with his father, Mr. Joe Ayettey, encouraged him to accept the offer. Successfully completing this program in 1971, he returned to Ghana where he completed Medical School. This marked the beginning of a lifetime academic career that Seth did not even dream about at the time.
The BSc in Anatomy opened a door for Seth to pursue PhD studies in Anatomy at the University of Cambridge after graduation. In September 1975, after internships in Medicine and Surgery, Seth left for Cambridge. By September 1978, after successful defense of his thesis on the fine structure of the heart, Seth returned to Ghana and began a teaching career in Anatomy at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS).
Pioneer
Seth chartered an impressive path unequalled by any student of the University of Ghana Medical School. He was the first UGMS alumnus to be appointed Chair of a Department at the Medical School in 1981. He served in this capacity for 14 years, the longest at the Medical School and the University of Ghana. He was first alumnus to be Vice Dean and Dean of the Medical School and first alumnus to give an inaugural lecture on appointment as a full Professor at the University of Ghana. Seth’s publications on the comparative ultrastructure of the myocardium in mammals with different physiologic adaptations such as flying mammals, aquatic, diving mammals and hibernating mammals placed him as one of the leading authors in the world on the subject, his work being cited in major reviews on the fine structures of the heart.
Seth was a pioneer in the creation of the Anatomical Society of West Africa in 1981, having been a member of the Anatomical Society for Great Britain and Ireland. Seth served as the first Secretary of this Society and as its 3rd President for 6 years. It was in his term as President that the Society began publication of the West Africa Journal of Anatomy. In October 2003, he was elected and served a one-year term as President of AORTIC (African Organization for Research and Training in Cancers).
For a period of four years (between 1986 and 1996), Seth distinguished himself as a visiting Professor at Tulane University, Louisiana, USA. Tulane University honoured him with the John B. Stibbs award for best teaching university-wide, and the OWL Club awards of Tulane medical students for outstanding teaching. Offered a permanent position, Seth was committed to serving his country and Africa and preferred exchange visitorships that presented opportunities for many of his colleagues and students at the University of Ghana Medical School to teach or study at Tulane. Through his tour at Tulane, Seth contributed to producing over 400 doctors for the United States and over 1700 doctors at the University of Ghana.
Founding Provost, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana
In January 2000, Seth was appointed First Provost, as he pioneered the establishment of the University of Ghana’s inaugural College of Health Sciences. Within 5 years, the School of Allied Health Sciences was established and the Department of Nursing at the University was upgraded to a School. Under Seth’s leadership, student enrolment for local graduate courses at the institutions of the College increased five fold, from 20 to 105. Similarly, the number of postgraduate residents at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital rose from 40 to 214. Seth promoted partnerships between the College and corporate business in Ghana, engaging 24 companies to contribute to an investment fund for scholarships for graduate students. This strategic move as well as his emphasis on human resource development at the College has contributed immensely to stem the serious problem of brain drain in the country. He continues to pursue a vision for a Biomedical School and Postgraduate Biomedical Institute for the University of Ghana.
Korle-Bu Neuroscience Centre of Excellence
A founding Director of Korle-Bu Neuroscience Foundation (Ghana), Seth works closely in collaboration with KBNF Canada, passionately driven in his vision for building human resource development for neuroscience and health care for Ghana and West Africa. He inspired the Canadian team with the concept of constructing a world class Neuroscience Center of Excellence for Ghana and West Africa at Korle-Bu campus in 2002, a concept that is becoming a reality.
Service to the Community
Seth is a man of many attributes, wearing many different hats in Ghana and in the international community, external to his academic career. In 1986 he was commissioned as a Presbyterian Minister. Serving as senior pastor of Shiashie Faith Presbyterian Church in East Legon, he has been instrumental in turning a small village church with a congregational size of 70 into a sanctuary for worship that can accommodate over 1,500 people. When construction is completed, this new church structure will be the largest in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
Founding national leader for the Prison Ministry of Ghana, Seth involved all major protestant churches and established mission links with churches in Louisiana, USA including First Presbyterian Church, Slidell, Covington Presbyterian Church and Faith Presbyterian Church, Covington. Recognizing his role in prison reform, President John Rawlings appointed him a member of the Prison Service Council in 1997 under the Constitution of Ghana. He served a term of four years. In 2002, President Kufuor appointed him Chair of the Prison Council.
Other key roles include Youth for Christ, Child Evangelism Fellowship, the Nurses Christian Fellowship and the Christian Medical Fellowship. Seth has been a member of World Vision Ghana Advisory Council in Ghana since 1982. He is thus one of the longest serving Directors in World Vision International. Since 2000, Seth has served on the World Vision International Board of Directors. In 2004, he was elected Vice Chair of this Board, a position he continues to serve.
Seth retired from the University of Ghana and as Provost of the College of Health Sciences October 2004 at the age of 58 to concentrate on various missions dear to his heart. In recognition of his significant contributions in the field Anatomy and postgraduate training in West Africa, Seth was made an Honorary Fellow of the West Africa College of Surgeons, the first Anatomist in West Africa to be so decorated. He also received a Millennium Excellence award from his High School, the Adisadel College.
Chairman of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Board
In 2009, the President of Ghana, Dr. John Atta Mills, appointed Seth Chair of the KBTH Management Board. Seth has a vision of transformative contemporary health care delivery for KBTH, Ghana and West Africa, and is fully engaged in seeing this a reality in this decade. He also serves by presidential appointment on the Ghana Judicial Council in various capacities. In August 2010, Seth was appointed by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana to Chair responsible for transitioning the College of Health Sciences to the East Legon campus. This includes the development of a 600 bed university hospital and 8 schools.
Married for over 35 years to Cecilia, his precious life partner, they are the proud parents of five accomplished daughters, including a doctor, dentist, child psychology student, and medical student. Seth and Cecilia adopted their 5th daughter, fondly known as “Baby Ceci” to her Canadian Korle-Bu Foundation family, in March 2003 when her mother, Paulina, died in childbirth for lack of ventilators and specialized anesthetic care. This tragic event is the prime motivation for Seth serving in the Neuroscience project. To him, each life is precious and therefore worth saving and caring for. A grandfather to baby Seth, Benjamin and Sarah-Anne, Seth is simply adored by his grandchildren.
Seth’s faith is deeply rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ and he demonstrates that faith in a life committed to human transformation and development in Ghana, Africa and in the rest of the world. He motivates and challenges people to be the best God intends for them to be and to pursue a life of excellence.
