The African Development Foundation and the Helping Africa Foundation held a fundraising event in New York to raise international support for the Lordina Foundation’s maternity projects across Ghana.
The gala brought together philanthropists, diplomats, healthcare advocates and members of the Ghanaian diaspora. They all came together to improve maternal and infant healthcare outcomes in Ghana.
Mrs Lordina Dramani Mahama gave an address at the event. She talked about the challenges faced by pregnant women in Ghana and the work her foundation is doing.
“Our greatest reward is not measured by figures but by the smiles we bring to the faces we help and the change in the conditions of the groups we assist,” she said.
Mrs Mahama added, “This is why the Lordina Foundation is motivated by a single mission: to restore hope and empower lives, one family, one community at a time.”
As a mother herself, Mrs Mahama expressed a deep personal connection to the cause. “During my travels, I make it a point to either visit or request an update on the state of these facilities. This is because of the impact on quality health care for pregnant women, maternal and infant mortality,” she said.
The First Lady shared some numbers that show why urgent action is needed. “The Ministry of Health has confirmed that every single month, over 3,000 Ghanaian babies don’t see their first birthday. Our infant mortality rate is at 52 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate is 103 per 100,000, and it is worse in the northern regions of Ghana. No mother, anywhere, should face childbirth gripped by such fear for her life or her baby. It is an injustice we cannot, and we must not accept.”
Mrs Mahama shared how her maternity projects started. She praised her husband President John Dramani Mahama for the support.
“When I began these projects, my husband and his party were in opposition. He was not the President of Ghana. We could have minded our own business. But John agreed with me that these are essential needs for our people, and with his support and that of friends, we constructed our first model 45-bed maternity and children’s ward at the Bole District Hospital in the Savanna Region,” she said.
Since then the foundation’s impact has grown. “We have since constructed three state-of-the-art Maternity and Children’s Wards in Bole, Nkoranza and Bodom,” she announced.
“As you saw in the video, they are providing safe spaces for mothers to deliver and children to receive critical care. We have also undertaken comprehensive renovations of vital health facilities, including the Hohoe Adabraka Health Centre, transforming them into centres of healing and dignity.”
These modern facilities are equipped with theatres, delivery rooms and Neonatal Intensive Care Units along with medical equipment donated to numerous health facilities nationwide.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
