First Lady donates medical equipment to health institutions
The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo has donated medical equipment to selected health institutions from across the country.
They included hospital beds, wheelchairs, ultrasound machines, microscopes, crutches, toilet chairs, examination beds, laboratory equipment, operating lamps, defibrillators, incubators, microwave ovens refrigerators and a lung machine for the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Making the donation, the First Lady and Executive Director of the Rebecca Foundation expressed optimism that the equipment would help enhance quality health care delivery in the beneficiary institutions.
The equipment were received by heads and representatives of a number of health institutions, constituencies and representatives of municipal assemblies from the Wenchi Municipal Assembly, Savelugu Municipal Assembly and the Shai Osudoku District Assembly.
The others were received by representatives from the Obuasi West Constituency, Dormaa West Constituency, Okaikoi Central Constituency, Upper West Akim Constituency, Fanteakwa South Constituency and the Atiwa West Constituency.
There were representatives of the Adentan Municipal Health Directorate, the Techiman Holy Government Hospital and the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who also received the items on behalf of the institutions.
Request
According to the First Lady, the donations followed requests made by those institutions to the Rebecca Foundation for emergency assistance to augment their inadequate and obsolete medical equipment.
She said the donations were made in line with outcomes of vetting of requests for assistance, put in by the various institutions to the foundation.
The First Lady urged corporate institutions and non-governmental institutions to turn their attention to augmenting government’s effort to re-equip health facilities across the country by making conscious effort to seek the needs of health facilities, especially in rural communities, and extend their benevolence to them.
She said it was heart-wrenching to witness or hear of the passing of someone because of the lack of hospital beds, incubators or some otherwise basic hospital equipment; a situation which motivated her to procure and distribute the equipment.
On behalf of beneficiary organisations, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Fanteakwa South Constituency, Mr Kofi Okyere-Agyekum, thanked Mrs Akufo-Addo and the Rebecca Foundation for the timely kind gesture.
He said they were particularly elated that the First Lady and her organisation had turned their focus to “smaller” health institutions in relatively remote areas to offer assistance.
The MP charged beneficiary institutions to use the donated equipment with care to ensure their longevity and optimum use for their intended beneficiaries.
The MP for Savulugu, Alhaji Mohammed Adel Samed Gunu, in an interview after the donation also expressed his gratitude to the First Lady for the kind gesture.
He said the equipment would go a long way to augment efforts by health personnel to save the lives of many people in the area.
Writer's email-rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh