First Lady addresses NDC supporters at Bia West
The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has stated that the provision of quality health care is not a privilege but a right for every citizen of this country.
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She said it was a right, especially for women and children to live and enjoy life with their families and in their communities.
Mrs Mahama was addressing a large gathering of people and party supporters at Bia West in the Western Region when the Lordina Foundation made a presentation of medical supplies and equipment to the Essam Government Hospital to enhance quality health care for the people of the community.
Foundation goal
Mrs Mahama said the goal of her foundation, with the support of its partners MedShare of the USA and other sponsors, was to help improve health delivery and save lives in hospitals.
She said the government was doing its best to upgrade health facilities across the country, these efforts need to be supplemented by NGO’s and other charitable organisations that have access to additional resources.
“As the First Lady of this country, I have had no greater satisfaction than working to ensure access to quality health care for the people, especially women and children”, she said.
The First Lady said that was the motivation behind the Lordina Foundation’s medical mission which had taken her to all the 10 regions of the country.
Numerous donations
She said the event added up to the numerous donations the foundation had undertaken in the last few years to many deprived hospitals across the country.
“Bia West is one of the 22 districts in the Western Region with a population of more than 70,000 people, who are predominantly cocoa and food crop farmers; they contribute significantly to the nation’s agricultural sector and the economy”, she said.
The First Lady asserted that for a district that made such an important contribution to the nation’s economic growth, it was necessary to ensure that the people were in good health to be able to go about their daily activities.
She believed the items would help in providing better and quality health care to residents of the town who would seek help from the health facility.
Clean surroundings
She urged the people to keep their surroundings clean and ensure free flow of waters in gutters and drains to prevent mosquitos from breeding and thus infecting people with malaria.
Mrs Mahama indicated that malaria was said to be more deadly than HIV/AIDS and even though the government and other stakeholders were doing all they could to eradicate malaria, individuals also had a role to play.
She called for the need to combat human trafficking and worst forms of child labour in the area-as a farming community which engages in cocoa and crop farming and also shares borders with Cote d’ Ivoire.
Child labour
She said that was a sensitive matter and there was the need to work together to ensure that the farms were not worked on by labour believed to have been trafficked or involving child labour.
“According to the International Cocoa Organisation in 2012-2013, approximately 60 per cent of the world cocoa came from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire,” she said.
Recently in Cote d’Ivoire, she, together and the First Lady of that country, affirmed her commitment to fight against human trafficking and worst forms of child labour.
Mrs Mahama gave an assurance that her foundation and the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDs (OAFLA) of which she was the president would continue to organise more medical delegations, health screening and provide more medical supplies to health facilities to improve healthcare delivery across the country.