The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has refurbished and inaugurated the Osu Maternity Home in Accra.
The 89-year-old facility, which until now had lacked renovation for decades, has been given a face-lift with the expansion of the delivery theatres from one labour bed to four beds, an eight-bed lie-in ward and two new antenatal-focused consulting rooms by the Rebecca Foundation.
The facility has been rewired to solve a long standing power leakage problem, fitted with a water heater, new airconditioners, microwaves and a nurses resting place fitted with cabinets.
The facility has also been fitted with a new placenta pit for a hygienic disposal of placentas, the whole building repainted, the floor now cemented, among others.
Childbirth
Mrs Akufo-Addo said “childbirth is a blessing from God and any woman who has gone through this experience knows it is a precarious time in their life as they present another of God’s blessing to earth”.
Mrs Akufo-Addo, a native of Osu, said the safety of women, especially during the period of child delivery, was dear to her heart, and that “losing a mother or child here in Osu, as a result of pregnancy is to me losing one of my very own, an event that can be prevented”.
She was hopeful that the facility, with ultra-modern equipment, would ensure safe delivery of mothers and safety of new-borns.
Mrs Akufo-Addo thanked the Chinese embassy in Accra for the support.
She said the Rebecca Foundation, together with its partners, “will eradicate maternal mortality and build a healthy nation”.
The Chinese Ambassador to Accra, Mr Shi Ting Wang, said the field of public health was an important part of the China-Africa Cooperation, saying the two countries had broad prospects for co-oporation in this field.
He said after decades of development, China had made great progress in the field of health care, saying China did not only have the will but also the ability to strengthen co-operation with Ghana in health care.
Mr Wang assured of China’s readiness to work together with Ghana to promote the country’s health care industry to a new level.
The Korley Klottey Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Adjei Tawiah, thanked the First Lady for the gesture, saying it would go a long way in helping reduce maternal mortality.
The Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Mrs Charity Sarpong, pledged that the facility would be put to good use for the benefit of the people of Osu and its environs.
BY: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
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