The Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Paulina Patience Abayage has launched the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital’s Needy Child Fund and made a first donation of GH¢10,000.00 to the fund.
She indicated that the fund stands to serve as a life saver for many children with health conditions that are bigger than the incomes of their families.
In order to sustain the initiative to benefit children yet unborn, Hon. Abayage passionately appealed to corporate organisations, agencies and departments in the region and beyond to donate generously to the fund to save the lives of disadvantaged children who through no fault of theirs suffer certain wrench health conditions.
At the official launch of the Needy Child Fund held at the Bolgatanga Regioanl Hospital’s Conference Hall in Bolgatanga, the Regional Minister, said if the children of Ghana would really be the trustees of the Country’s prosperity, then there was the need for all and sundry to provide them with quality and accessible healthcare.
She explained further that society must create the suitable safety nets that are needed to provide the health needs of children as a basic right.
“The collective society must come to complement the efforts of government and health service providers in bridging the access gaps in healthcare’’ she added
Hon. Abayage commended the leadership of the hospital for the laudable initiative which seeks to affect the lives of many children positively.
Mr. Mark Anthony Azongo
The Head of Paediatric Department of the Hospital, Mr. Mark Anthony Azongo said the initiative to introduce the Needy Child Fund is part of the department’s campaign for the survival of the child.
He said within the last half year, seventeen parents and care takers have had to abscond with their children on admission because they had no valid insurance card and could not afford their hospital bills amounting to GH¢5,864.00.
Mr. Azongo added that the number of sick children referred to higher facilities for further attention and could not afford the cost of medical bills is on the ascendency and as a result three of such innocent children died during the last quarter.
He explained further that the cost of ambulance fee from Bolgatanga to Tamale Teaching Hospital is GH¢1,000.00 which is far beyond the affordability of most parents, hence they resorted to hiring commercial saloon cars with their own mobile oxygen and is about GH¢250.00 of which some parents of the needy children still struggle to afford.
As a result, the unit took the initiative to launch the Needy Child Fund to save the lives of innocent children. He therefore, pleaded with the general public, organization, corporate bodies and individuals to contribute regularly to the fund.
, December 13, 2019