By Doreen Ampofo
The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo has inaugurated an ultra-modern hostel facility for parents of children with cancer at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The fifty-four bed capacity hostel, which also has an AstroTurf playground for kids, was 90% funded by the First Lady through the Rebecca Foundation.
The construction follows an appeal by the parents who revealed that about 75% of patients abandon treatment due to its cost and the unavailability of accommodation when they travel long distances to seek treatment at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
At the ceremony, the parents called for the inclusion of childhood cancer drugs onto the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Rebecca/GHAPACC Sunshine Hostel also has a Conference room, kitchen, two big store rooms, a family lounge, and four huge poly tanks with pumping machines.
Construction began in 2017 on International Childhood Cancer Day, when Doctors at the Childhood Cancer Department revealed that most patients fail to continue treatment due to the cost and the lack of proper accommodation for parents whose children were on admission.
According to statistics the department sees about 250 new childhood cancer cases every year, however, more than 150 of them return for treatment.
The First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo Addo believes the new edifice will reduce the burden on parents and increase the number of patients for treatment.
President of the Ghana Parents Association for Childhood Cancers, Dr Kwame Aveh, while thanking the First Lady for the gesture, asked that drugs for cancer treatment be put on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The CEO of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Dr. Opoku Ware Ampomah said Korle Bu is undergoing transformation, adding that the facility will be performing the first cochlear transplant.
Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Mensah, said the government will continue to invest in health to ensure that it is made available and accessible to all.
