ADB donates ¢500m to Korle Bu Neuroscience Foundation

The Agricultural Development Bank, Ghana's major agric financing institution on Wednesday presented a cheque for ¢500 million to officials of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The amount is to contribute towards the construction of the proposed $63.8 million Neuroscience Centre.

The Board Chairman of ADB, Paul Koranteng in a presentation at the event said the Bank has consistently seen its social responsibility role as a priority and had chalked an enviable feet in that area over the years, reflected most aptly in its winning for two consecutive years the award for Most Socially Responsible Bank at the prestigious Ghana Banking Awards.

According to Paul Koranteng, the bank"s commitment to the health and fitness of the Ghanaian was evidenced in their earlier support for a number of Departments within the University of Ghana Medical School and the Institution of a $20,000 grant for the College of Health Sciences, as well as their recent support towards the organisation of the 2008 Cup of African Nations tournament to be hosted by Ghana.

He lamented that premature deaths are a daily occurrence in Ghana because of the lack of badly needed health care, hence the need to support the Neuroscience Foundation towards the establishment of the neuroscience facility, which is regarded as the fastest growing area in basic scientific research.

The chairman of the Neuroscience Centre, Reverend Dr Asante Antwi in receiving the cheque, expressed his appreciation for the gesture and further appealed to all corporate institutions to take a cue from what ADB had done.

The Neuroscience Centre forms part of the three new centres expected to be established by the Korle-Bu Teaching hospital. This includes the Urology centre and the new Eye Centre.

It is estimated that the neuroscience centre, when completed, will serve about 250 million people across the African continent, providing treatment for brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke, epilepsy, brain tumours and related conditions.

In a related development, staff of the Neurosurgery department also donated ¢20m to the foundation to help build the centre. Ketu Addy, a member of the Board of the Neuroscience foundation, also donated ¢1m.