GHS launches Tertiary Health Foundation Fund in the Upper East

Bolgatanga, July 28, GNA - The Upper East Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched a Health Foundation Fund dubbed the “Tertiary Health Foundation Fund” in Bolgatanga.

The Fund would support people who are in dire need of tertiary health care such as hole-in-heart, kidney conditions, brain surgery, cancers and other health cases that require specialized health services but are too expensive for the clients.

Dr John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Regional Director of Health Services and Founder of the Foundation, said it would consider “cases that require huge volumes of money and specialty”.

He said it was worrisome that majority of the people in the Region were not able to have access tertiary health care such as hole-in-heart, kidney conditions, brain surgery and other specialized services and blamed the situation on poverty.

“It is sad that less than 1 per cent of persons ever referred with tertiary health complications from the region to Korle Bu or Komfo Anokye actually went there. Of the number that actually make it to these facilities only a fraction successfully accessed the services, the majority end up returning to their homes with their conditions to aggravate and to die subsequently”.

Dr Awoonor-Williams said he had to part with his personal money of 3,500 Ghana cedis together with some contributions from the staff of the Directorate to cater for a four year old, Wepare Moses Ayigoni, a hole-in-heart patient whose parents could not afford to pay for the surgical operation at Korle Bu this year and said another one and half year girl had reported to the directorate with a similar case.

“There are a lot of children with such cases whose conditions are worsening and they need help. For example, there are many women with fistula cases which are very expensive to treat and these categories of people need to be helped”.

Dr Awoonor-Williams said it was a disgrace that in the 21st century, Ghana which is endowed with a lot of natural resources such as oil, bauxite and gold, should allow its sick children to be parading on Television networks asking for support to undergo surgical operations.

Mr Robert Ajene, one of the trustee members of the Fund, entreated people in the region, particularly the indigenes and those outside the region to contribute to the fund and reiterated that it would alleviate the suffering of the deprived who cannot afford to pay huge amounts of money for their health needs.

The Foundation has a seven member trustee chaired by the Regional Director of Health Service. It has an account number, “9011010143126” with the Ghana Commercial Bank with an account name “Upper East Tertiary Health Foundation Fund”.

GNA