A GNA Feature by Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), Feb. 27, GNA – The Bono and Ahafo Associations of North America (COBAANA) is embarking an ambitious endeavour to tackle the high incidents of kidney disease in Ghana, as renal failures and attendant deaths devastate families and society.
COBAANA is the largest umbrella organisation, comprising natives of Bono and Ahafo, resident in North America.
The association is set to put up an ultra-modern dialysis and medical center in Sunyani, the Bono Regional capital to provide easier access to people with kidney and related illness.
On completion the medical center will create access to dialysis and other relevant medical equipment and devices for clients, sparing them the troubles of traveling from villages, communities and towns in the regions to Kumasi for medical care.
History
The idea to put up the medical center started off on a somber note as fear ran through the Ghanaian community in North America, as renal failure and death from it became a taboo for COBAANA members who were quiet to talk about.
“In fact, only a few members were willing to discuss it as they looked for answers on how to care for their loved ones who were battling renal illness in Ghana”, Thomas Kyeremeh, a Ghanaian resident in Germantown, Maryland, United States stated.
He explained that: “As fear and anxieties took center stage at our meetings and social events at summer picnics, discussions about kidney failures could not be ignored anymore among COBAANA members”.
The leadership of the COBAANA initially could only offer empathy and comfort to the grieving families for their losses as the association followed through and sought for better knowledge and education with the disease and its treatment options.
That was to help members who were going through such family tragedies in Ghana.
Expert view
Due to the devastating toll on the members, the leadership of the association invited medical experts to offer a better insight into renal disease; prevention and treatment options.
So, starting in the summer of 2022, COBAANA executives brought in medical and health experts at all summer picnics in North America to brief them about what members need to know about the disease and treatment options.
The more education they received from the experts however, the more it became apparent that there were no easy and affordable options for the renal failures when expensive organ transplant procedure was one of them.
“We came to the conclusion that there were few options available for us but doing nothing was like condemning our friends and their families to a slow debilitating painful death”, Mr Kyeremeh explained.
“So, we needed to do something fast if only to save the unlucky ones who have come down with the disease as that was the only way to give them a better shot at life and a chance to survive”, he added.
Dialysis Center
To save the pains of death of members, in August 2022, COBAANA made a bold and consequential decision to build a fully functional Dialysis center to serve the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo Regions.
“However, when the architect presented the bills of quantities for such an ambitious project to us, we were alarmed especially when the initial estimate crossed a million-dollar threshold”, Mr Kyeremeh stated.
Instead of dumping their spirits, the members reacted to the financial challenge with a renewed determination to build the facility.
2023 Convention
That birthed the COBAANA show to Ghana in a fact-finding convention to gauge the local interest for the project and to have a firsthand appreciation about the gravity of the crisis.
The 2023 Convention in Ghana which was attended by the then vice president of Ghana, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, opened eyes and confirmed the crisis.
Devastation
Community after community that the members visited, they received reports about the devastation caused by renal disease.
Undoubtedly, renal failures don’t spur the rich, the poor, traditional leaders and all manner of people in society as the pain of the loss of a primary breadwinner in families is too horrifying to sit through.
In the midst of the sad stories, nothing prepared the association for the enthusiastic reception that greeted the proposal from peoples in Bono and Ahafo regions.
In fact, the financial contribution received from the chiefs, queens and people at the Sunyani 2023 convention was overwhelming.
“On that day we commission this project, I know the list of people we will have to show our gratitude for supporting the project will be endless but today let me use this space to specifically thank the Sunyani Traditional Council for accepting to host this facility”, Mr Kyeremeh stated.
He said that the support from the council from land allocation to moral and financial remained unparalleled.
Sod Cutting
To make the dream a reality, COBAANA members stayed the course and made steady contributions at its annual fundraising conventions all in a buildup to the sod cutting ceremony.
The ground breaking ceremony is slated to take place in Sunyani on February 25, 2026 and the media, print and electronic publications about the upcoming sod-cutting event had created a buzz and excitement among the beneficiaries in the three regions.
“The message is loud and our resolve is clear; for families who are going through renal disease treatment, we say we’ve heard your cries and help is on the way”, Dr DeGraft Kwafo Gyan, the Chairman of COBAANA stated.
He added that: “For all those who are still clinging on to life while making weekly, sometimes three times trips to Kumasi or Accra for dialysis, we say hang on a little tighter for help is on the way”.
Commendation
Dr Kwafo outlines lists of people and prominent personalities, commending them for inspiration and support even before the first brick of the center was laid.
They include Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount Chief of the Dormaahene Traditional Area and Odeneho Dr Afram Brempong III, the Paramount Chief of the Sumahene Traditional Area in the Bono Region.
“In fact, they have made immense financial contributions for the project execution”, he stated, and mentioned Dr Nick Abeam Danso, a business mogul “whose words of encouragement and massive financial contribution gave us impetus right from the launch of this project in Sunyani in 2023”.
Dr Nick Abeam has sent a delegation from Ghana to all our conventions since 2023 and at all times have made huge financial donations to the project.
“We cannot also forget Sunyanimanhene, Ogyeamansan Boahen Korkor II’s contribution to us with a pledge of additional support when we break ground on his land”.
We can’t forget the patriotic four first-time Members of Parliament from Bono region who heard about the fundraising event and took leave from Parliament.
Together with the Bono Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Nana Kofi Akantoa, they were all with us in Denver, Colorado to support us and made a big donation to our course.
Dr Kwafo also thanked the Bono Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Addae Akwaboa for his immense support and warm reception “on our countless calls and visits”.
Way forward
The construction of the dialysis and medical center is in the right direction, as renal failures and attendant deaths erode joy and bond in families and the entire society.
With the facility in place, the chances for people with kidney related illness in the Bono, Bono East and Ahafo enclaves to survive may be just an emergency trip to the COBAANA Dialysis and Medical Center in Sunyani.
“In fact, the execution of the dialysis medical center project has been necessitated due to the rise in kidney-related diseases and we are ready to partner the government to provide quality healthcare delivery to the masses”, Baffour Owusu Sika Aduomi, the General Secretary of the COBAANA concluded.
GNA
Kenneth Odeng Adade