GGBL responds to water crisis at KATH

Water supply and sanitary conditions at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has received a major boost following the intervention of Beverages giant Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL).

The company in collaboration with Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Water for Africa Through Everyday Response (WATER) on Thursday, commissioned a mechanized bore hole it constructed for KATH.

The project done under the Water for Life programme of the GGBL, comprised two thirty thousand litre water tanks fitted with auto sensitive booster pumps for the main theatre, the family planning and reproductive health centres of the hospital.

The company also commissioned a six unit toilet facility for the Ear Nose and Throat unit of KATH and a five unit urinal to serve the reproductive health and diabetic centre of the tertiary referral facility.

The project also saw the re-assessment of the six existing bore holes of the hospital and the construction of a water tower fitted with two thousand five hundred litres capacity water tank for the newly constructed toilet facilities

Speaking at the commissioning, the Chief Executive officer of KATH Dr Joseph Akpaloo stated that the hospital over “the years, has been plagued with intermittent water supply challenges due to the occasional cuts from the Ghana Water Company Limited and inadequate storage capacity of the hospital’s storage facilities.”

He explained, “Without reliable water supply, the countless number of life saving procedures undertaken at this hospital would not be possible.”

“It seems shortage of water due to cuts from Ghana Water Company limited or faulty bore holes will be a thing of the past. On behalf of the management and staff of the hospital, I wish to confer the gratitude of the hospital to the management of GGBL for its financial support for the projects. We wish to assure GGBL that the hospital is ready and willing to enter into long term partnerships in improving services to the underprivileged in society who constitutes the core of the hospital’s clientele base,” he lauded.

Dr Akpaloo especially commended Obstetrician Gynaecologist and known Public Interest Advocate Dr Ernest Kwarko who spearheaded the initiative after the hospital was hit with acute water shortage some three years ago.

Recounting his motivation for taking the initiative Dr Ernest Kwarko told Ultimate News, “about three years ago Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital could not operate for about four days because there was water shortage. The pumps from Barekese had a problem and were we going to wait to be hit by another crisis?”

“We needed to find an alternative water source and an alternate source of storing water so that we could manage any crisis if we get hit by our only supply from Barekese. So I set out to dig into my network of friends and possible financiers and today, the story has been told.”

Dr Ernest Kwarko receiving his award

Managing Director of GGBL, Francis Agbonlahor indicated that the intervention has opened a window for more collaborative work between the company and the hospital in touching lives.

Mr Agbonlahor and his team also cut sod for the second phase of the project which should see the construction of underground water storage facilities and the sinking of new bore holes to feed the new tanks.