Accra, Nov.12, GNA – The First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has commissioned a 54-bed capacity hostel for children diagnosed with cancers and are on treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra.
The facility, christened: “Rebecca Akufo-Addo/GHAPACC Sunshine House,” became highly desirable as transportation challenges were discouraging many guardians from taking their wards diagnosed with cancer to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for treatment.
This sometimes made the guardians leave the children to their fate, a situation that was detrimental to their health and life.
The edifice has a kitchen cabinet, a 50 to 100-capacity conference hall, a reception area for visitors, a dining area, a kitchenette, storerooms, washing rooms with two washing machines, two television sets, a family lounge, four poly tanks, a playground, water dispensers, and refrigerators.
Mrs Akufo-Addo said the facility was named Sunshine because children were a ray of sunshine, and expressed optimism that it brought a ray of hope to the children while they lived there and underwent treatment at the Oncology Unit.
She said only about 30 per d cent of children with cancers physically sought medical attention annually and that was contributed by the transportation challenges they faced, some of which had to do with financial constraints and the severity of patients’ conditions.
“I believe the facility will relieve them of the stress of traveling to and fro Korle Bu to access health care,” she added.
Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, the Chief Executive Officer of the KBTH, thanked the first lady for showing interest in the project since she cut sod for its construction on February 15, 2017, and also for raising about 90 per cent of the funds for its construction through the ‘Rebecca Foundation”.
The facility, he said, would improve the quality of service to children with cancer.
He disclosed that the Sunshine project also included the construction of a new hematology centre to enable the hospital to conduct stem cell transplants for patients.
Dr Felix Kwame Aveh, President of the Ghana Parents Association for Childhood Cancers (GHAPACC), said the realization that 75 per cent of childhood cancers were curable necessitated the need to form the Association in February 2009 to support themselves.
The support included psychosocial, spiritual, physical, and financial interventions, he said and explained that they also shared experiences to draw strengths and advocated on behalf of children with cancers.
Dr Aveh said over 80 per cent of childhood cancer patients were referred from facilities outside Accra to the KBTH and about 40 per cent of parents ignored visits to the facility due to challenges of accommodation, transportation, and accessibility of the facility, which affected the children greatly.
Providing accommodation had, therefore, become an urgent call in supporting the children while undergoing treatment, he said and expressed gratitude to the first lady for the benevolence.
He, however, appealed to the Rebecca Foundation to help them maintain and keep the House to serve all needy in-house patients.
Dr David Nkansa-Dwamena, the Board Chair, KBTH, who chaired the commissioning ceremony, gave the Rebecca Foundation an assurance that the facility would be put to good use and beseeched other individuals and non-governmental organisations to emulate the example set by the Foundation to put smiles on the faces of the needy.
Also present at the ceremony were Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Arts and Culture, Madam Tina Mensah, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Lydia Dsane-Selby, the Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority, and Dr Bernard Oko Boye, a former Deputy Minister of Health.
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells anywhere in the body. These abnormal cells are termed cancer cells, malignant cells, or tumor cells. It can damage the immune system and cause other impairments that could be fatal.
GNA