Short History

Neurological Sciences have developed quickly over the last six decades in Africa. However, the general standard lags that of Asia, Europe and the Americas. This situation led the early African practitioners to establish the Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences (PAANS) to promote the specialty. This organization has been recognized by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS). West Africa’s first neurosurgeon, Dr. Latunde Odeku, introduced the specialty to the sub-region via Nigeria. Later, Dr. Mustaffah introduced neurosurgery to Ghana. In the last decade, specialty training programs have been established by the West African College Surgeons and lately by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Ghana Academy of Neurological Surgeons (GANS) became an urgent need in Ghana as an independent body of Ghanaian neurosurgeons sponsored by an honorary agreement to effect standardization and harmony between its practitioners