Austria Donates to Budumburam Camp

AS PART of its efforts to facelift health situations in the Buduburam Camp, the Austrian Consulate has donated medicines and cash worth ?15,000,000 to the St. Gregory Catholic Clinic.

The medicines, which include Lexaquin, Dettol, Wolkadine, Ciprokam and Erythrobe, are to assist in reducing the cost of medical expenses charged by the clinic.

Presenting the items, the Austrian Consulate, Mrs. Ingeborg Smith, appealed to nongovernmental agencies and philanthropists to contribute towards donations to the Buduburam community in their small ways to minimize the unnecessary awful pain, which prevail in the community.

The Chief Executive Officer of Powapak Limited, Mr. Ray Smith, also advised Africans to desist from fighting against themselves since development lies in peace making Receiving the items, the Medical Officer in charge of the Clinic, Dr. Ishmael Popewo McGill, lamented on the manner in which the camp of about 20,000 in population, in the 90s has expanded to a population of about 42,000 people, depending on only one clinic with the staff strength of 18 medical officers.

He blamed the population explosion on the rapid migration of people from the neighbouring countries who have taken the advantage of the peaceful nature of the country to reside permanently in the camp.

He stated that, "our drug consumption rate cannot be controlled because always, there are a lot of people migrating to the community because of the opportunities in Ghana".

Dr. McGill noted that an average number of about 400 to 600 patients who suffer from malaria, typhoid, STD's and AIDS are admitted in the hospital every month.

"Most of the resistance strength malaria cannot be treated because most of the patients cannot afford it because it's an own employed community," he added. He disclosed that the clinic has embarked on an expansion project to accommodate 32 patients a day.

He said the expansion project which would be completed March, next year, would start diagnosing laboratory cases so that an end could be put on referring people to far communities for treatment.

He called on the government to assist the hospital to offer counseling and nutritional support to the community.

Dr McGill also appealed to philanthropists to provide transport for the carriage of garbage to a proper place of refuse, as the camp has been surrounded by communities, making people throw rubbish about indiscriminately.