The Office of the President, through the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving Committee, has donated GH¢100,000 to the Dialysis Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra to support the treatment of kidney patients and improve renal care delivery.
The amount, released from offerings collected during this year’s National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving and topped up by the government, is also expected to spur corporate organisations, philanthropists and individuals to support dialysis and kidney transplant services in the country.
Presenting the cheque on Monday, the President’s Envoy for Interfaith and Ecumenical Relations, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said the gesture underscored President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to giving thanks to God for Ghana’s peace, stability and improving economic fortunes, while supporting vulnerable people in society.
He noted that although parts of the West African sub-region continued to experience conflict and instability, Ghana had remained an oasis of peace.
He attributed this to God’s grace and the collective efforts of the citizenry.
Mr Ankrah said recent improvements in key economic indicators, such as inflation, the debt-to-GDP ratio and economic growth, showed that the country was making steady progress.
He further elaborated that the theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving: ‘Resetting Our Values to Build the Ghana We Want,’ was a call on Ghanaians to embrace integrity, discipline, hard work and patriotism as essential values for national development.
He expressed the hope that the donation would inspire corporate bodies and benevolent individuals to support the dialysis centre and help ease the financial burden on patients who require life-saving treatment.
Receiving the cheque, the Chief Executive Officer of KBTH, Dr Yakubu Seidu Adam, expressed gratitude to the Office of the President and the committee for the timely support.
He reaffirmed the hospital’s commitment to providing uninterrupted dialysis services and expanding its kidney transplant programme to improve the quality of life of patients.
Dr Adam said the hospital currently operated a 24-hour dialysis service in three sessions daily, including weekends, to ensure continuous care for patients.
He added that management was working to maintain adequate stocks of dialysis consumables, stressing that missing treatment sessions could have life-threatening consequences for patients who depended on the service.
Moreover, Dr Adam explained that the hospital was intensifying its kidney transplant programme to enable more eligible patients to undergo successful transplants and eventually come off dialysis.
He said the long-term goal was to increase the number of successful transplant surgeries by securing suitable donors and providing specialised care.
He appealed to corporate organisations, philanthropic institutions and individuals to support the hospital’s renal care services, noting that treatment remained expensive despite efforts to make it more affordable.
BY EUGENE AMPIAW
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
