Taking cognizance of trends in the health industry in Ghana coupled with the level of changes taking place in society, a former Ghanaian Chief of Staff and Minister of Interior in the John Mahama administration, who is a staunch Catholic, has built and donated a state of the art Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) to the Margret Marquart Catholic Hospital at Kpando in the Ho Diocese in the Volta Region.
At a ceremony at Kpando on October 20, Mr. Prosper D.K Bani, the donor said “As I donate this ultramodern building as a gift to the Hospital as part of the Hospital’s 60th Anniversary celebration, I will continue to give my unflinching support to make this Mother and Baby Unit one of the best in the Diocese,”
He added that “it has always been my dream to give back to the Hospital my family including my parents sought regular medication. My dream in fact started 18 years ago when I was working with the UN and as staunch Catholic I saw many things while people die in missions including my friends.”
The donated facility
Making the donation, Mr. Bani said his was happy his widow’s mite “would bring a sigh of relief by reducing maternal and infant mortalities.” I am happy I took the cost of the building while the hospital artisans and staff provided manual labour as their contributions to reducing the cost on the donor,” stated.
Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, Bishop of Ho, who commissioned a state of the art new Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) with the support Bishop Anthony Adanuty, Emeritus of Keta-Akatsi and Mr. Bani, thanked the donor and his family for the gesture and charged the Hospital administration to take good care of the facility.
Mr. Emmanuel Hanson Torde, the Hospital Administrator assured the donor that we will take the necessary security and maintenance measures to ensure the longevity of this edifice.
He said “Mother and Baby Unit creation in every primary health provider facility is a policy directive to provide inpatient psychiatry care for mothers and their infants up to a year after child birth.”
This unit, he pointed out “provides inpatient assessment and treatment for mothers and babies enabling mothers to receive treatment they need without separating them from their new born babies.”
“This building, therefore became imperative in an attempt to providing decent ward for mothers, new born babies and working space for staff of the unit,” he stated, adding that “Those of us who are familiar with the current structure that serves as the Mother and Baby Unit will bear witness that a better place like this is long overdue.”
According to Emmanuel Torde, “Management has been taking a strategic and comprehensive approach to infrastructural development in this hospital and this MBU project is aligned with the priorities identified several years ago.”
Our approach, he emphasised, is that investment of hospital resources must be in line with policy directives, institutional and community needs and human resource availability to put the investment into optimal use.
This comprehensive package of assistance is appropriate with the aim that Margret Marquart Catholic hospital is gradually approaching a secondary provider status. The most important thing needed now is to strengthen the existing specialty and diagnostic services.
On her part, Madam Gloria Kloku, the Nurse in charge of Babies Unit, said that the commissioning of this Unit building “was a major relieve to mothers, babies, staff and the facility at large. The MBU will enable the staff to provide standard and quality care to the babies and their mothers, she added.
She appealed to other philanthropic organisations to support in equipping the facility with baby cots, baby warmers, Mechanical Ventilators, CPAP Machines and incubators for smooth and quality health care.
Source: Damian Avevor
