Accra, April 9, GNA - Dr Joseph Oteng-Adjei, Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation has commended the management of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Clinic, for funding a new Maternity Block to serve the health care needs of the Atomic community and its environs.
The new block which was funded with the clinic's Internally Generated Fund (IGF) cost GH¢ 579,661.83 and has facilities including a theatre, labour and delivery wards as well as Doctor and Nurses changing rooms.
The Minister said the move was commendable and would complement government's effort at providing wider coverage for maternal and child health care needs.
Dr Oteng-Adjei, who commissioned the facility in Accra on Tuesday, acknowledged the fact that maternal and child health needs must be prioritised to salvage the current high rate of maternal mortality in the country.
He noted that although it is essential for the development of every nation, developing countries, particularly in Africa, continued to record high maternal mortality rates, thus retrogressing efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5.
He said Ghana was however actively working at reducing its maternal mortality rate of 457 per 100,000 live births since 2007 to 150 per thousand live births by 2015.
To achieve this target, access to antenatal care should be made a priority to ensure that all pregnant women receive quality health care.
Dr Oteng-Adjei said improvement of the health of mothers and women in general had been high on government agenda, thus launching the Maternal Health Channel series on TV aimed at complementing concerted national efforts to inform, educate and stimulate interest in maternal health issues.
He urged all pregnant women in the catchment area to patronise the new facility.
Professor Benjamin Jabez Nyarko, Director- General, GAEC, said the involvement of the Commission in the Health sector dated back to 1973, when the Ghana Atomic Reactor Project was reactivated.
The Health Services and Nuclear Medicine Departments were created within the Commission to harness the potential of nuclear energy on health issues.
He recounted the numerous contributions of the Commission to the national health care delivery system, saying that, the GAEC Clinic, apart from providing for the health care needs of staff, was to be developed into a facility to provide Radiological Emergency Services for the entire country.
Prof Nyarko said the Commission over the years had collaborated with the Medical School at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital by providing diagnostic services in areas such as organ function tests and imaging of organs such as thyroid, liver spleen, brain and kidney among other things.
He also mentioned the Commission's facilitation of the establishment of the two Radiotherapy Centres at Korle-bu and Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals in Accra and Kumasi respectively for the treatment of cancer.
Prof. Nyarko explained that the Commission was embarking on other initiatives such as the establishment of a Nuclear Imaging and Diagnostic Centre for the early detection of cancer and appealed to government and other Corporate Organisations to support the Commission to complete the project. GNA
BoG's $260 million building: It was Ato Forson who first proposed 'sell-and-leas...
'We have to do soul-searching' — Mahama orders nationwide flood assessment
Court orders woman beater to pay GHS5,000 compensation to midwife at Tema Commun...
Over 12,000 women living with obstetric fistula in Ghana — Asokwa MP
Mahama secures 1,840 farm equipment deal from Belarus
Titus Glover slams Mahama’s flood report directive, calls it “waste of energy an...
We have increased posting of doctors from 12 to 100 to underserved regions in 20...
'You had the effrontery to call me struggling lawyer, you won't come back to pow...
Belarus manufacturers to storm Ghana next week after President's visit
Government to offer tax incentives for factories located outside Accra
