Former Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa has expressed his sadness about state institutions attitude towards philanthropists who come into the country to help the needy.
According to him, bureaucracy at the Ministry of Finance and other ministries makes it unattractive for foreigners to help the needy in Ghana.
He said due to the frustration his ‘Operation Walk’ team went through in clearing medical equipment for the surgery this year, the team is unable to operate the number of people who hitherto would benefit from the free surgery.
Professor Badu Akosa led a team of American Doctors to Ghana to undertake surgeries for people who cannot walk under the initiative ‘Operation Walk’.
This year’s operation started on Monday and ended on Friday, October, 25, 2019 at the St Joseph’s Hospital in Koforidua.
Prof. Akosa warned that, many vulnerable people will continue to suffer and die in their poor conditions if there was no change in the attitude of state institutions towards such initiatives.
The project which started three years ago with support from Vitamilk, as part of its corporate social responsibility, has operated on over two hundred Ghanaians with various disabilities, but mostly those who couldn’t walk at all.
A team of surgeons from the United States of America, comes to Ghana with their own medical equipment and implants to do hip and knee replacement surgeries to deserving pre-qualified patients.
At a press conference held in Koforidua by the Operation Walk team, some beneficiaries of the programme who were full of praise for the team, pleaded with the government to facilitate the smooth working of the team in Ghana to bring relief to the many who can’t afford surgeries outside Ghana.
Source: Ghana|Adom News|Maxwell Kudekor