Wife of Asantehene, Lady Julia, has commended efforts by the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Multimedia Group and other organisations to give a facelift to the struggling Mother and Baby Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH).
Speaking at a fundraising event in Kumasi, the Ashanti Region capital Sunday, she said she was happy that years of pleas by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and other interest groups to improve conditions at the maternity block at the health facility has received attention.
“We have found not just a listening year, but an inspired act to save our mothers and children from needless deaths. We are grateful to the Multimedia Group for the powerful documentary which shook the conscience of the nation” she said.
The Kumasi fundraiser follows an earlier event in Accra to raise funds for the project.
The KATH Mother and Baby Unit was the spotlight of the recent Joy News Special Assignment by Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng which revealed how hundreds of babies and mothers are dying at the facility.
The new Mother and Baby Unit, when completed will reduce the mortality rate of mother and baby at the hospital by up to 60 percent.
The First Lady, through her Rebecca Foundation, has been spearheading the fundraiser and has called on residents of Kumasi and well-meaning Ghanaians to contribute towards the project.
Lady Julia said she was hopeful that the event will meet its target.
“We are grateful also to all those who combine expertise to help provide the emergency unit to help reduce the acute congestion while government prepares for the completion of the abandoned block.
“But above all our utmost gratitude goes to the First Lady of the Republic, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, for her inspiration and initiative that has galvanised the nation to support this noble humanitarian venture,” she said.
Santokh Singh
Multimedia Group’s Managing Director for Television, Santokh Singh, who also spoke at the event, said the media conglomerate will continue to seek the good of the country.
He said the despite the negative criticism from detractors about some of Joy News’ reports, the station will remain committed to improving the society through the power of the media.