SOGOG is an affiliate of the world organization of obstetricians and gynecologists called FIGO and the African organization called African Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology, AFOG. SOGOG’s predecessor was the Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Ghana formed in the early 1970s in Accra. By convention, the oldest (by qualification) obstetrician/gynecologist at the time, was accepted as President of the association. Thus, the late Prof. K.K.O. Bentsi-Enchill became the first president of the association. Following the death of Prof Bentsi-Enchill in 1980, Dr Amar who was secretary under Bentsi-Enchill, became president. Under his presidency, the President of the RCOG at the time, visited Ghana where for the first time outside the UK, he conferred the Fellowship of the RCOG on the late Prof. Ampofo.
Activities of the association included get-togethers organized when external examiners from the UK and Nigeria came to Accra for examinations in Accra and a laparoscopy course.
Another milestone is the arrival of Prof Tim Johnson in Ghana in November 1986, as part of the collaborative Carnegie postgraduate training program in obstetrics and gynecology. All these years, no regular meetings of the association were organized! In 1992, the then president of the association, Dr Amar, called a meeting to revive the association. At this meeting, the “Elders” in the association led by Dr Amar himself, decided to step down and hand over the leadership of the association to a younger group, comprising of Dr J.B. Wilson as president, Prof. Sidney Adadevoh as Vice-President and Dr Kwesi Apea-Kubi as secretary. At this meeting, it was greed that yearly annual general meetings (AGM) should be organized.
In 1993/1994, SOGOG was coined, to be the new name of the association in line with its role as the affiliate of FIGO in Ghana. Regular AGMs were organized until 1998. In 1998, under the presidency of the late Dr Collision a couple of AGMs were organized until 2004. Indeed in 1994/1995, the then First Lady of Ghana, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings became the Honorary Patron of the association. She was also the Guest of Honor and Speaker at the AGM. In 2004, Dr Kwesi Apea- Kubi was elected president following the death of Dr Collison.
Unfortunately no AGMs were organized until 2009, when Prof. E.Y. Kwawukume on his own initiative, called a meeting of the moribund association, to get new officers elected to revive SOGOG. At this meeting, he was elected the interim president of the association, with Prof A.T. Lassey as vice-president, Dr Mrs Rebecca Acquaah-Arhin as secretary and Dr Robert Anipa as treasurer. These interim positions were later confirmed at the subsequent AGM in 2010.
SOGOG has had a rather checkered history since its inception and that of its predecessor. There were periods of inactivity followed by outburst of activity! The late Dr Amar once described this as the association experiencing “Episodes of suspended animation”!
Suggested vision of SOGOG: – Seek the total well-being of Ghanaian women in the areas of physical, reproductive and sexual as well as mental health.
Our Aim: To promote the well-being of Ghanaian women and to raise the standard of practice of obstetrics and gynecology in Ghana to the highest level attainable