By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Jan.27, GNA – The Rotary Club of Kumasi-East is mobilizing $20,000.00 worth of equipment to resource the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) of the Kumasi South hospital.
The support will aid the timely treatment and prevent the death of new-born babies and children who have been admitted at the facility.
Ms Sharon Afriyie Ofori-Kuragu, President of the Club, who made this known, said it was important to help expand the Unit and provide it with adequate equipment to help reduce congestion and enhance quality healthcare for babies and children.
The Rotary Club of Kumasi East has already adopted the MBU of the hospital to provide it with the needed support to improve quality healthcare for children.
Currently, the MBU which serves about 26 districts in the Ashanti region has a small space with inadequate equipment and logistics.
Ms Ofori-Kuragu, who was speaking during a ceremony to present some hospital consumables to the Unit said the Rotary Club of Kumasi East together with Rotary International, would continue to connect continents across the world to undertake humanitarian projects and services to help improve the livelihoods of the marginalized in society.
Among the items donated were nasal prongs, glucometer, glucometer strips, burettes, Nasogastric tubes (NG tubes), new-born plasters, infusion sets and feeding tubes.
Ms Ofori-Kuragu said the focus of the Club were disease prevention and treatment, mother and childcare, literacy, conflict resolution, environment, water and sanitation.
Dr Rita Fosu Yeboah, Paediatrician at the hospital, said the MBU admitted close to 1,200 new-born babies every year and diagnostics had to do with pre-maturity with low weight, birth asphyxia, and new-born infections.
The biggest challenge, according to her, was respiratory support for the new-borns and photo therapy machines for jaundiced babies, adding that, the hospital had to improvise machines to save babies.
“In place of a continuous positive airway pressure machine (CPAP), the hospital has to use bottled water to deliver oxygen to new-borns”, she said.
Dr Yeboah commended the Club for the support and was optimistic that the pledge to purchase equipment including CPAP machine and photo therapy machines would help in the smooth running of the Unit.
The Rotary Club is a global network of about 1.4 million neighbours, friends, leaders and problem-solvers, who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe.
GNA