‘Save a child, save a mother’ fund yields GH¢6.17m
The ‘Save a child, save a mother’ appeal launched by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, in Accra and Kumasi to build a new mother and baby unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has yielded positive response, according to a release from the office of the First Lady.
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Accounts verified by Deloitte and Touche as of May 31, 2017 indicated that organisations and individuals have donated an amount of GH¢6,170,686.23, with an outstanding amount of cash pledges of GH¢1,489,500.00 yet to be redeemed. Additionally, in-kind pledges and donations including cement, electrical cables, windows, pipes, baby cots, hospital beds and incubators have been made.
The unit
The new mother and baby unit is in direct response to severe congestion at the current maternity unit, which has inadequate space and medical equipment to cope with the volume of births, surgeries and neonatal care at KATH, leading to high numbers of avoidable death of babies and mothers.
According to authorities at the KATH, most of the deaths are attributed to higher than normal infections and cross-contamination due to lack of space and equipment. Lack of hygiene, it said, is also a factor as the space is so little that there is no practical way to clean the wards.
The appeal
The new baby unit, a 1,500-square metre one-storey building with the capacity to take five times the current number, will give it additional capacity to grow over the next five years while they wait for the completion of a 43-year-old building by the government.
In the statement, the First Lady said “the urgency of the situation demanded that we build a new unit as an immediate solution while we wait for the government to complete the old building, which would take about two years, by conservative estimates. The longer we wait, the more babies and mothers we lose. The current situation of averaging the loss of four babies a day is simply unacceptable.”
While expressing her gratitude for the positive response, the First Lady also encouraged Ghanaians to continue to donate, noting that the minimum amount needed was GH¢10,000,000 for the KATH project, while additional funds will be needed for similar projects her office intended to execute in the health sector across the country.
The KATH mother and baby unit fundraising drive is a collaboration between The Rebecca Foundation and Multimedia Group.
Interested persons who will want to join in this noble cause can donate through GCB account number 1011130002970- Account name Save a Child, Save a Mother or Access Bank account number 0090104618741 (GH¢), 0091064618741 (euro), 00091014618741 (US$) and 0091024618741 (£).