The First Lady of the Republic, H.E. Mrs. Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo in collaboration has donated assorted hospital equipment for various health facilities across the country, including the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital
The donations follows requests made by these institutions to the Rebecca Foundation, for emergency assistance to augment their inadequate and obsolete medical equipment.
The institutions were presented with medical equipments, including several hospital beds, wheel chairs, ultrasound machines, microscopes, defibrillators, incubators, microwave ovens refrigerators and a lung machine for the Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Making the donations, the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana and Executive Director of The Rebecca Foundation, H.E. Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo expressed optimism that the equipment will enhance health delivery in the beneficiary institutions, stating that the donations were made in line with outcomes of vetting of requests for assistance, put in by the various institutions to The Rebecca Foundation.
The First lady urged corporate Institutions and non-governmental institutions to turn their attention to augmenting government’s effort to re-equip health facilities across the country by making conscious effort to seek the needs of health facilities especially in rural communities and extend their benevolence to them.
She stated that, while some well-to-do in big cities could access all manner of health deliveries at any time, it was always heart-wrenching to witness or hear of the passing of another, because of lack of basic hospital equipment; a situation which motivated her to procure and distribute the equipment.
Among the beneficiary institutions are government health facilities, mission health centers, municipal assemblies and constituencies. They include Wenchi Municipal Assembly, Savelugu Municipal Assembly, Shai Osudoku. Others are Obuasi West Constituency, Dormaa West Constituency, Okaikoi Central Constituency, Upper West Akim Constituency, Fanteakwa South Constituency and Atiwa West Constituency. The rest are Adentan Municipal Health Directorate, Techiman Holy Government Hospital and the Cardiothoracic Centre, Korle Bu Hospital.
On behalf of beneficiary organisations, Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa South Constituency, Hon. Kofi Okyere-Agyekum thanked Mrs. Akufo-Addo and The Rebecca Foundation for their timely kind gesture adding that, they were particularly elated that the First Lady and her Organisation had turned their focus to “smaller” health institutions in relatively remote areas to offer assistance.
The Member of Parliament, Hon. Kofi Okyere-Agyekum charged beneficiary institutions to use the donated equipment with care to ensure their longevity and optimum use for their intended beneficiaries.
Earlier, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. called for greater integration of homeopathic and conventional medicine to enhance efficiency in medical treatments while making it more affordable to the ordinary person.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo made the remarks when she commissioned the new Nature’s Cure centre, a division of Impact Diagnostic Centre, in Accra yesterday .
Addressing distinguished invited guests at the short ceremony, Mrs Akufo-Addo said while alternative medicinal treatments like homeopathy which was popular in the twentieth century died down, the numerous benefits directly linked with the practice has created a wave of interest, with more and more people resorting to alternative medicine or as complementary to orthodox medicine.
She observed that even though alternative medicines consistently receives some criticisms for being backwards and sometimes unreliable, its proven efficacy at treating many medical conditions has compelled its garnering of more followers.
The First Lady expressed optimism that with the establishment of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Directorate at the Ministry of Health, which provides guidance and direction for the practice in Ghana, more Ghanaians will feel comfortable and ready to resort to homeopathy and other alternative medications to conventional medicines, and where necessary consider an integrative approach to medical treatment.
“Already”, she said Health facilities like LEKMA, Police Hospital, Komfo Anokye and La Polyclinic are already running pilot projects, incorporating alternative medicine with conventional medicine.
Mrs Akufo-Addo congratulated the management of Nature’s Cure Centre for their determination to enhance confidence in homeopathy as an alternative medicine, through responsible and professional practice, stating that it is in line with government’s objective to provide safe comprehensive health services to Ghanaians.
Group CEO of Impact Medical and Diagnostic Centre , Dashen opticians and Nature’s Cure, Mrs Aku Sika Bediako said the facility is resourced with homeopathic specialists who have been in the practice for decades and so are conversant with the professional administering of homeopathy as an alternative medication to conventional medicine.
A Specialist in Hahnermann Homeopathy, Dr. Heinz Hubber advocated more practice of alternative medication, stating that in the absence of mechanical emergencies such as broken bones or displaced spine discs; homeopathy was a better alternative medication as its side effects are minimal and cost of administering it, less expensive.
