By: Rachel Kakraba
The Namibian High Commission in Ghana, has presented a higher Spec Ventilator to the Paediatric Unit of Korle-Bu Teaching hospital.
The machine valued at 22 thousand dollars is to aid work of the unit. It is also a demonstration of Namibia’s goodwill towards Ghana as its marks its 33rd Independence Day celebration which falls today, March 21, 2023.
Namibia gained its independence on March 21, 1990. As such, the day is marked annually to commemorate that historic day when the country became a sovereign state.
The day is marked as a national holiday in Namibia, and is celebrated with parades and political ceremonies attended by top leaders. Making the donation to the Paediatric Unit, of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Namibia’s High Commissioner to Ghana, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, noted that access to good public healthcare by citizens is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
She was hopeful the donation will go a long way in supporting healthcare delivery in the country. She was hopeful there will be better cooperation between the two countries for improved health outcomes.
“This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long standing cooperation as you continue to render this valuable services. We look forward to continue working together to make health available to our people, thank you for opening your doors to us” she said.
Madam Ashipala-Musavyi noted Ghana was instrumental in the decolonization of Africa and the gesture is a token of appreciation. She was optimistic the donation will be of immense benefit to health workers and patients.
“There’s a Ghanaian proverb, if you do not know where you are going at least know where you are coming from. Luckily for us in Namibia we know what Ghana has done for Namibia and we know where we want to take our bilateral relations and cooperation. Your country Ghana occupies an important place in the decolonization process of our continent. That is the essence of our token donation” She added.
Chief Executive Officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku-Ware Ampomah, said the donation is a dream come true and will solidify the Ghana-Namibia relations.
He congratulated Namibia on the occasion of its 33rd Independence Day.
“We are very grateful that you decided to do this without any hesitation although it was beyond your budget. I think Namibia is one of Ghana’s friends on the continent. I wish to salute you and the people of your country and wish you a happy Independence Day celebration. May our friendship and partnership continue into the future.”
He said the gesture is exemplary of how African countries can support each other’s development.
“Most of the time we see people from Europe and other places coming to support African countries. When it comes to donations and supporting and doing goodwill things we don’t really see much between our countries. But I believe you have set a very worthy example which has to be emulated as Africans because we were all one before the colonialists came and divided us. So I think it’s high time we went back to what it was” Dr. Opoku-Ware Ampomah said.
Receiving the donation, head of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Frank Owusu Sekyere, noted the ventilator will enhance work of the facility.
“We need a higher spec in order to offer maximum health to the children, especially when we have children over 12 years and above we struggle because they are not able to do well on the conventional one that we have. That’s how come the higher spec is going to be very helpful in terms of the services that we offer. The good thing is it has a port for both neonates, neonates are the children less than a month old and then older children.”
Dr. Sekyere who noted work of the unit had been challenging with regard to older children said “when you get to what you can do, the rest is either you get help from another place, or that is it, or you still make do with the little you have. One is not enough but it’s a good start”
“The good thing is we have other ventilators that work but the high spec one is for those who are a bit old. So if you get 14 year, 15 year old who will require a bit more air delivery, something we call tidal volume this is going to change that but, for the younger children the ones we have are doing well, Dr. Sekyere added.
A Representative of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Henrietta Baah, noted that Ghana and Namibia relations dates back to history.
“This not the first time Namibia is doing this for us, Namibia has been helping Ghana in other areas.”
She was happy the gesture was will deepen the relations in the area of medical services.
