AstraZeneca donates nebulisers to Ho, Cape Coast Teaching hospitals

The Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) and Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) have received four OMRON Nebuliser machines each to improve care for asthma and other chest congestion conditions.

The donations by global pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca — separately done in the Volta and Central regions, respectively — were to support people living with asthma to reduce related mortality and morbidity.

A nebuliser is a piece of medical equipment that a person with asthma or other respiratory condition can use to administer medication directly and quickly to the lungs.

The gestures were in line with AstraZeneca's Africa PUMUA Initiative, a programme committed to redefining asthma care in Africa, through partnership with government, healthcare professionals, societies and AstraZeneca.

Ceremonies

At the separate events, the Country Director of Astrazeneca, Mr Emmanuel Mawuli Atiemo, said his outfit recognised the need to support the facilities with the items in response to the rising cases of asthma in Africa, noting that Africa had recorded over 44 million asthma cases.

He emphasised that AstraZeneca's Africa PUMUA Initiative was working towards improving the health outcomes of patients in Africa by providing support of infrastructure, increasing awareness of the symptoms and risks of asthma, and building the capacity of all role players across the patient journey.

The initiative, he said, was aimed at improving paediatric and adult asthma management across public and private sectors, with focus on local health system strengthening, health sector capacity building, awareness and education, and equitable access to AstraZeneca's respiratory medicines.

He said the Africa PUMUA initiative, through its partnerships, would address the barriers currently preventing access to care for patients with asthma.

"As a global biopharmaceutical company, the health of people is something we really care about, but we know that these diseases provide an increasing challenge to health and health care, and that will remain a challenge both during the period of COVID-19 and after. This is behind the donation of nebuliser machines to the Ho Teaching Hospital," he said.

Appreciation

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HTH, Dr John Tampouri, expressed gratitude to AstraZeneca, expressing optimism that the relationship with the hospital would grow stronger.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Lord Mensah, said managing asthma had been a challenge over the years, and was the main cause of mortality in children and adults.

The CEO of the CCTH, Dr Eric Ngyedu, commended the organisation for the support, and gave an assurance that the supplies would be used for the intended purpose.

He emphasised that asthma patients should be able to live normal lives while receiving the best care.