The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has called for more detailed planning to provide quality health care and training for health staff to match global trends in health service delivery.
Mrs Akufo-Addo Addo made the call in a brief solidarity message when she joined other stakeholders virtually to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Rebecca Akufo-Addo Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Friday.
The celebration of the anniversary which was on the theme “Making a difference, one little life at a time”, afforded stakeholders the opportunity to reflect on the five years journey of the PICU and chart the way forward, through speeches and solidarity messages.
The event was interspersed with musical interludes from Korle-Bu choir and a band, and climaxed with the cutting of the anniversary cake amid fanfare.
The First Lady said the Rebeca Akufo-Addo PICU project was in fulfilment of a promise she made following an appeal sometime in 2017, by the Korle-Bu Child Health Department to the Rebecca Foundation to help fix the challenging conditions facing the department.
According to Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, it was important to reflect on the state of the country’s health facilities and how its premier hospital would have such challenges in taking care of our children, adding that, “Biomedical engineering is pushing the frontiers of medicine in a way that is incredible.
The Twofohene of the Kwaku Traditional Area, Nana Opoku Mintah II, who was the guest speaker, said the celebration of the Rebecca Akufo-Addo foundation PICU was a milestone in the country’s journey to provide top-notch childcare.
He indicated that the foundation’s focus areas included providing financial aid to sick children within the first 48 hours of care, conducting preventive medical outreach programmes, offering continuous training for health professionals, and conducting research into critical child care.
“The foundation aims to optimise the use of National Health Insurance to support critical child care, building on the existing support for four childhood cancers,” he added.
Nana Opoku Mintah II expressed gratitude to the First Lady for her selfless dedication to improving the lives of children in the country.
The acting Head of Unit, Dr Claudia Adja Sai, said that the Rebecca Akufo-Addo PICU had transformed the landscape of paediatric emergency and critical care services in the country, saving over a thousand young lives since its inception.
“In the five years since its first patient, the facility has significantly reduced its emergency room mortality rate from nine per cent in 2017 to three per cent in 2023, marking a 66 per cent decrease. This achievement has garnered international recognition, with the team’s data presented at the World Federation of Paediatric Intensive and Critical Care Society Conference in 2023,” she stated.
She appealed to the government and other non-governmental organisations to support and invest in the unit to help save the lives of children suffering from severe illnesses.
BY EMMANUELLA MBAMA AKIMBI
