By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Nov.18, GNA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has broken the ground for the construction of a state-of-the-art maternal and child health centre at the HopeXchange Medical Centre in Kumasi.
The facility, projected to be completed within 18 months, will help address the increasing maternal and child mortality in the Ashanti and peripheral regions.
It would include a labour suite, neonatal and paediatric intensive care units, in-patient and out-patient wards, and adolescent clinic.
Ms Virginia Palmer, the US Ambassador to Ghana, said a healthy start was the first step to a lifetime of good health, which was why the USAID had continued to invest in the health facility.
The Agency had so far invested about $3.5 million in the HopeXchange Medical Centre, Ghana, she said.
“In addition to the support to HopeXchange, every year, the United States invests over $12 million to improve the health and lives of mothers, babies and children across the country.”
Ms Palmer noted that the United States launched a Women’s Cancer Centre at HopeXchange Ghana in 2019 that serves as a regional hub for medical training, research, and patient care to address public health priorities in sub-Saharan Africa.
The US, she said, was Ghana’s largest bilateral development partner, adding: “In 2023, our bilateral assistance totalled over $150 million dedicated to supporting health, economic growth, agriculture, education, governance and security”.
Dr Rita Larsen-Reindorf, the Ashanti Regional Deputy Director of Health Services in charge of Clinical Care, commended the US Government for the continuous support and investment in the healthcare of the country.
She said issues of maternal and newborn mortality were critical and still high in the region and that the facility would help reduce the trend.
The region recorded 134 per 100,000 live births in terms of maternal mortality and 11 per 1,000 still births in 2022.
GNA