Dr. Ampomah (2nd left) receiving the donation
THE Namibian High Commission in Ghana has donated a high Independence-performance ventilator to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) as part of its 33rd Independence Day activities.
The GH¢300,000 equipment is one of the machines needed to care for critically ill children and it is considered a very vital part of the PICU.
The High Commissioner of Namibia to Ghana, Selma Ashipala Musavyi, who donated the item called on African countries to invest more in public health facilities because that would go a long way to contribute to productivity and also help them to perform much better.
She said the High Commission decided to donate to the hospital because it would have a multiplying effect in terms of those who would benefit from it.
Chief Executive Officer of KBTH, Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah, expressed gratitude for the donation, pointing out that it was significant because the hospital would be 100 years old this year, and the donation was one of the ways the hospital could be supported to provide the best of care to people.
He appealed to corporate citizens and other embassies in the country to support them.
Touching on the significance of the equipment, Head, PICU, Dr. Frank Owusu Sekyere, said sometimes, ill children could not breathe on their own, and it was during those moments that they needed a ventilator to take over the work of breathing.
“So, you can have a child with very bad pneumonia and the whole lung is solid.
Without something to take over the work of breathing, they may die.
The ventilator, therefore, takes over the work of breathing, which the child cannot do on his/her own.”
He said although they needed more than one piece of equipment, the initiative by the High Commission was a good start.