Sod being cut for the commencement of work on the project
Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin last weekend cut the sod for the construction of an International Children’s Cancer Research Centre (ICCRC) in Akyem Asikam, in the Abuakwa South Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The centre, which will be built by the Wish4Life Foundation, will be the first children’s cancer centre in Africa to be named after Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin.
The $250 million ICCRC, will comprise a 100-bed facility with state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and therapeutic modalities, educational facilities, residential lodging facilities for patients and their families and medical staff, and a chapel.
The ICCRC will serve as a centre of excellence for the region, custom-designed by experts in numerous professional capacities and partnerships with corporations (from Elekta, Siemens and Amazon) to shepherd Precision Cancer Care for children into Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa. The impact is anticipated to change the cancer healthcare ecosystem for African continent.
The ICCRC was envisaged by a child from Africa treated in the United States, who wished that children from the continent could receive quality and compassionate cancer care, the source of the name of the Foundation, Wish4Life Inc.
The Founder of the Wish4Life Foundation, Dr. Tanya Trippett, explained that the foundation is a global humanitarian initiative designed to provide and enhance the opportunity for pediatric cancer treatment for children in developing nations.
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II commended the foundation for its vision to ensure the health and well-being of children suffering from cancer, adding that the project will help relieve the burden of Ghanaians who are having problems with cancer treatment.
He, therefore, urged the foundation to provide the facility with good health expertise to deliver quality healthcare to Ghanaians.
The construction of the state-of-the-art cancer facility will start in April 2025 and be completed in May 2026 to help elevate cancer treatment in Africa.
BY Daniel Bampoe