The newly constructed Mother and Baby Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has been named after the late mother of Otumfuor Osei Tutu II.
Health Minister, Kweku Agyeman Manu disclosed this at the commissioning ceremony of the facility in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi on Friday, January 19, 2018.
He said following deliberations between authorities at KATH and the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, it has been agreed that the Unit will be called Nana Afia Serwaa Kobi Ampem.
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The Mother and Baby Unit of KATH has been completed just six months after the sod was cut for its construction.
A documentary by Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng highlighting the inhumane challenges pregnant women at KATH go through just to give life.
The documentary also brought to light the high rate of maternal mortality at the facility, which used to see between four to five babies dying daily, as a result of the appalling conditions at KATH’s maternity unit.
Mrs Akufo-Addo receiving a copy of the Next to Die documentary
The First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo after watching the heart-rending documentary in collaboration with the Multimedia Group, raised funds for the construction of a befitting edifice for mothers and their babies.
And in a record time of six months, a building the first of its kind in Africa, has been constructed at KATH.
It has been commissioned and handed over to KATH to begin full operations.
The new facility houses the Maternal, Neonatal and Intensive Care units.
The new Unit has three surgical theatres, meaning three women can undergo a caesarean section at a go.
A situation which was impossible in the past. Women had to stay in long queues before they could be attended to.
Also, babies will no longer share cots. The 30 cots in the new unit means that the situation where about four to five babies shared one cot will no longer occur.
The new facility also has 20 new incubators, and about 130 delivery beds and 12 mothers can go through delivery at the same time.
In the past, there were only two delivery beds and women in labour waited in queues for hours before they could deliver.
The new facility also boasts of an ultra modern feeding room. Mothers have been provided with recliner seats to make breastfeeding comfortable, healthy and in a clean and serene atmosphere.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
PHOTOS: New KATH Mother and Baby Unit named after Otumfuor’s late mother
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