The building, which cost some GHc10 million generated from public fundraising and donations, is expected to help reduce congestion and current deaths reported daily at the facility.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qBkKwMiiyrpw6oq14Pzq4XXOeLhppKLT”]Available records show that a newborn baby dies every fifteen minutes with four babies dying every hour at the country’s biggest referral hospital for people in the northern part of the country.

But the new unit, which has over 15 incubators and 3 emergency wards, will allow KATH take in four times the current number of infants and mothers and reduce avoidable deaths by 60-80%.

Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo who cut the sod for the construction of facility in May 2017 has been raising funds towards the project together The Multimedia Group Limited.

The project now houses the Maternity, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care units at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

More urgency needed to end maternal mortality

Mrs. Akufo-Addo had earlier bemoaned the continuous death of women and children during childbirth worldwide, especially Ghana.

The First Lady, while speaking at a Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), described the situation as not only worrying but unacceptable.

“Ghana could not achieve its millennium development goal target of 185 per 100,000 live births; we achieved 319 per 100,000 live births at the end of 2015. Given that the new sustainable development goal target is to achieve 70 per 100,000 live births by the end of 2030, we need to work with urgency,” she added.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post First Lady to commission new Maternity Unit at KATH today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The unit, which is planned to be completed in four month’s time, is part of efforts to address the problem of inadequate maternity-related facilities at KATH, currently resulting in avoidable suffering and deaths of mothers and children who visit the hospital for medical care.

At the ceremony, the First Lady expressed her gratitude to all donors for their quick response to the fundraising request that has made it possible for construction of the project to commence.

She indicated that, she was particularly happy because she “ feels confident that when completed, the project will save many lives.”

She noted that the provision of quality healthcare should always be prioritized because “a country’s best resource is its human resource, and health is by far one of the most important investments we can make in them.”

The First Lady however urged all not to let their generosity end with this project, but always support a course towards providing quality health care.

According to her, regardless of recent achievements in healthcare, “a lot more needs to be done to achieve the goals and indicators as espoused in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”

Present at the ceremony was the Second Lady Hajia Samira Bawumia, the Regional Minister Simon Osei Mensah, Deputy Minister of Health and the Mayor of Kumasi  Hon. Osei Assibey.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post First Lady cuts sod for GHc10m KATH maternity unit [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.