Children’s Hospital celebrates 90th anniversary

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has called for increased investment in the education of females as a long-term measure to ensure a healthy and productive population.

She said it was through quality education that women would be equipped with knowledge about family planning and good nutrition essential for improving their own health and that of children.

The First Lady made the call in a speech delivered on her behalf by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD), Ms Sherry Ayittey, at the 90th anniversary celebration of the Princess Marie Louise Hospital (Children’s Hospital), in Accra last Saturday.

The event brought together people from all walks of life, including medical personnel, civil society organisations (CSOs) and philanthropists.

The 90th anniversary was celebrated on the theme: “Pioneering Child Health Care in Ghana.”

Government interventions

Mrs Mahama said the government’s continued support for child health through investment in health infrastructure and related interventions such as the integrated immunisation exercise and distribution of treated mosquito nets had helped to improve the health of children and mothers.

She called for increased commitment from health personnel to ensure a healthy and productive population, adding that although the government was investing heavily in health infrastructure across the country, that alone could not deliver quality health care to the people if personnel did not give their best.

Provide good structures

For her part, the Executive Director of the Salt and Light Ministry, Rev. Dr Joyce Rosalind Aryee, called on healthcare planners to provide the necessary structures for quality health care for children.

“Good health during childhood sets the tone for a healthy adulthood and this goes a long way to determine the socio-economic potential of the population of the country,” she said.

She stressed the need for the country to guard against negative indicators which contributed to child mortality, including poverty, discrimination and unequal access to health care.

Dr Aryee said one way to improve the health of children was for more children’s hospitals to be built across the 10 regions.

She also called on hospital authorities to roll out robust training programmes to upgrade the skills of health personnel.

Appeal for support

The Chairman of the Children’s Hospital board, Rev. Father Andrew Campbell, appealed to the government to help the facility to expand its infrastructure to cater for more children.

He also called for the posting of qualified medical doctors to the facility.

“Currently, some philanthropists have donated incubators to us. But, for the past two years, those incubators are lying idle because there are no doctors,” he said.

Background

Established in 1926, the Children’s Hospital provides general paediatric, paediatric surgical, dental care, eye care, ear, nose and throat care, among others, for children.

The hospital has 190 nurses and seven doctors, who attend to an average of 167 patients per day, according to the 2015 OPD attendance.