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#SaveThemNow: Help with whatever you can - First Lady appeals

By MyJoyOnline
General News SaveThemNow: Help with whatever you can - First Lady appeals
MAY 28, 2017 LISTEN

First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has called on all individuals and institutions to contribute whatever they can to help build a new mother and child unit for Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in the Ashanti Region.

She reiterated that the Unit would help “save the lives of our mothers and children in the region and beyond.”

She made this call at the Kumasi fundraising event held at the Manhyia Palace under the patronage of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II to solicit for additional funds for construction of a new one-storey unit, pegged at GHS10 million.

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First Lady with Lady Julia Osei Tutu II and Samira Bawumia

The First Lady noted that considering the current situation at KATH, a modern facility to cater for five times the current number will be a major life-saving measure to “bring hope not only to families in Ashanti and beyond."

“Being a Ghanaian means being our brother’s keeper as well as taking the initiative to make things happen to correct the wrong,” therefore many Ghanaians like herself have taken to various activities to stem the tide of avoidable deaths at KATH.

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First Lady with Lady Julia Osei Tutu II
“A mother dies, a vacuum is created in the family, which never gets filled. When a child dies we always wonder maybe if this child were alive, he or she would be in the university, married or even be the president,” she observed urging all to join in and contribute in whatever way they can towards this project.

Mrs Akufo-Addo was emphatic that, “we are not only building a maternity unit for Komfo Anokye, but we intend to improve other health facilities across the country. Your contributions would enable us to do so.”

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First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo delivering her speech

The Kumasi fundraiser follows an earlier event in Accra to raise funds for the project.

She commended all individuals, companies and organisations for their contribution during the Accra fundraising which she described as “highly successful.”

She, however, indicated that though “the Accra event yielded some considerable amount, we have not met our target yet” noting the Kumasi event was “to ask the wonderful people of Kumasi and its environs to help us raise enough to build this maternity unit.”

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Some invited guest at the event
The KATH Mother and Baby Unit was the spotlight of the recent Joy News Special Assignment by Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng which revealed how hundreds of babies and mothers are dying at the facility.

The new Mother and Baby Unit, when completed will reduce the mortality rate of mother and baby at the hospital by up to 60 percent.

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Some invited guest at the event
Present at the fundraising were the wife of the Vice President, Samira Bawumia, the host Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and wife Lady Julia Osei Tutu.

Other traditional and religious leaders from Ashanti region, representatives from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals and other dignitaries also graced the occassion.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com

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