Korle-bu commissions three projects

Accra, Aug. 14, GNA - First lady Ernestina Naadu Mills on Friday said she had decided to be an advocate for support for women and children's health and

would be raising three million dollars to augment the approved GH¢1.5 million by Parliament to fund the establishment of a well-equipped modern unit to cater for

surgical emergencies in children. "My contributions and your contributions to the effort of government will go a long way to improve the quality health service in the country," she said when

she commissioned three projects at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital in Accra to help improve healthcare delivery at the hospital. The First Lady said children were the future leaders and any investment to ensure their proper physical, mental, social and spiritual growth must therefore be

cherished and called on individuals and corporate bodies to join her in her mission to build a better Ghana. The projects include a 600,000-dollar refurbished second floor of the maternity ward by the MTN Ghana Foundation, a health flagship project of the foundation

aimed at improving maternal healthcare, a GH¢182,000 refurbished Out Patient Department and consulting rooms of the Child Health Department. The other project is a GH¢102,000 refurbished physiotherapy unit for children, especially those with Cerebral Palsy, a brain paralysis that affects the movement

of body position. Deputy Minister of Health Mr. Ben Kumbuor bemoaned the country's disease burden and noted that even though prevention was a cheaper alternative, it still

did not attract sufficient attention, thereby pushing the over reliance on curative medicine which requires modern facilities and equipment. He said it was therefore imperative that health facilities be expanded and improved through construction of new equipment and the refurbishment of old ones

adding that government could not do it alone and commended the private sector for timely interventions. Deputy Minister for Communications, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, noted that the contribution made by the communication sector was very encouraging and

commended MTN for their high spirit of corporate social responsibility and urged other corporate players in the communications industry to make similar

contributions to society. Executive Director of MTN Ghana Foundation, Ms Mawuena Dumor, said the project would give pregnant women access to quality antenatal and postnatal

healthcare that they needed to ensure that their babies lived and expressed the hope that it would complement the effort of dedicated and skilled health

professionals to achieve a reduction in maternal mortality.