First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo has called on all individuals and institutions to contribute whatever they can to help build a new mother and child unit for Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in the Ashanti Region to help “save the lives of our mothers and children in the region and beyond.”
The First Lady made this call at the Kumasi fundraising event held at the Manhyia Palace under the patronage of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to solicit for additional funds for construction of the new GHS10 million Maternity Unit for the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
In her speech to donors, the First Lady said that considering the current situation at KATH where disturbing number of avoidable deaths of mothers and babies are recorded partly due to inadequate facilities to cater for them, a modern facility to cater for five times the current number will be a major life-saving measure to “bring hope not only to families in Ashanti, but also those in the BrongAhafo, the three Northern Regions and parts of the Central and Western Regions, who are served by KomfoAnokye Hospital.”
The First Lady noted that “being a Ghanaian means being our brother’s keeper as well as taking the initiative to make things happen to correct the wrong” therefore many Ghanaians like herself have taken to various activities to stem the tide of avoidable deaths at KATH.
She observed that when “a mother dies, a vacuum is created in the family, which never gets filled. When a child dies we always wonder. Maybe if this child were alive, he or she would be in the university, married or even be the president.” She therefore urged all to join in and contribute in whatever way they can towards this project.
The First Lady took the opportunity to remind donors that though the fundraising is necessitated by construction of maternity unit for KATH, there is a bigger intention for the event saying “we are not only building a maternity unit for Komfo Anokye, but we intend to improve other health facilities across the country. Your contributions would enable us to do so.”
The First Lady commended all individuals, companies and organizations for their contribution during the Accra fundraising noting that it was “highly successful.”
She however indicated that though “the Accra event yielded some considerable amount, we have not met our target yet” therefore she noted that the Kumasi event was “to ask the wonderful people of Kumasi and its environs to help us raise enough to build this maternity unit.”
She further reminded the gathering of the need and the urgency for all to donate generously to the course noting that she wishes to see a fully functional modern maternity unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in four month’s time so that “space would no longer be an impediment to the well- being and survival of our mothers and children.”
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.
Present at the fundraising were the Second Lady Samira Bawumia, the host Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and wife Lady Julia Osei Tutu, other traditional and religious leaders from Ashanti region, representatives from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals and other dignitaries.
Other traditional and religious leaders from Ashanti region, representatives from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals and other dignitaries also graced the occassion.