President John Dramani Mahama will launch a Primary Health Care Programme that will provide free care at facilities across the country, including the newly commissioned Anyima Health Centre.
The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Dramani Mahama, announced this on Saturday at the commissioning of the fully renovated and well-equipped Anyima Health Centre at Anyima in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region.
She stated that the programme’s expected outcomes include increased healthcare utilization, early disease detection, reduced health expenditure for families, and a healthier, more productive nation.
The First Lady disclosed that the Anyima Health Centre brings the total number of medical facilities the Lordina Foundation has either built or renovated across the country to six.
She explained that this includes four new maternity and children’s wards at Bole, Nkoranza South, Bodom in Nkoranza North, and more recently at Asukawkaw.
Mrs. Mahama stated that the Foundation also renovated and expanded the Adabraka Health Centre in Hohoe Zongo and provided essential medical equipment.
She noted that the commissioning of the Anyima Health Centre holds a special place in her heart because it is in her home area.
The First Lady revealed that Jema-Ampoma, which is nearby, is where her late mother Abena Gyamfua comes from.
“But beyond my personal ties to this project, we at the Lordina Foundation believe that every Ghanaian community deserves access to quality healthcare, especially for maternal and infant health,” Mrs. Mahama said.
She disclosed that Ghana’s maternal mortality rate is nearly 300 deaths per 100,000 live births, while infant mortality is reported to be about 32 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The First Lady stated that behind these numbers are mothers, daughters, sisters, and precious children whose lives could be saved with timely access to quality healthcare facilities and skilled birth attendants.
She noted that many of these deaths are preventable, occurring because expectant mothers have to travel long distances to access basic maternal care, because facilities lack essential equipment, or because health centres have been in very poor condition for many years.
Mrs. Mahama explained that this is why the Lordina Foundation continues to be dedicated to lowering maternal and infant mortality throughout the country.
She disclosed that following the completion of the rehabilitation, Anyima now has a functional Primary Health Care centre that will serve over 3,000 people in the community as well as the neighboring towns of Amoma, Apesika, Jema, and Kranbenko.
The First Lady stated that the renovated Anyima Health Centre has an Out Patient Department, a consulting room, an examination room, a delivery room, a labour ward, a children’s ward, and male and female wards.
She revealed that other important additions include an adolescent centre, laboratory, dispensary, offices for nurses and midwives, and an emergency room.
Mrs. Mahama noted that the special aspect of the facility provided by the Lordina Foundation is essential medical equipment to support quality healthcare delivery.
She disclosed that the Anyima Health Centre now has new beds and mattresses for the wards, examination beds, an electric obstetric bed, an infant incubator, an infant phototherapy unit, an ultrasound system, a digital electrocardiogram, oxygen equipment, delivery set, patient monitoring devices, and essential neonatal care equipment.
“My dear brothers and sisters, my children and nananom, the buildings the Lordina Foundation is constructing are not merely structures. They are life savers,” Mrs. Mahama said.
She explained that sick relatives and pregnant women in Anyima and neighboring communities will no longer endanger their lives by traveling long distances for quality healthcare.
The First Lady noted that newborns will get immediate professional care, stating that the impact on beneficiary communities will be great.
She urged health workers who will serve at the facility to treat every patient with dignity and compassion.
“Let us work together to make this facility a zero maternal mortality and a zero infant mortality facility,” Mrs. Mahama said.
She asked the community to take full ownership of the centre, keep it in good condition, and make full use of its services.
The First Lady urged traditional leaders to keep their eyes on the facility so that it can continue to meet the people’s health needs for years to come.
Mrs. Mahama thanked Madam Saa Gyamfuaa II, the Anyimahemaa, for her passion and advocacy which led the Lordina Foundation to work on the centre.
She expressed gratitude to the management and staff of the Lordina Foundation for their dedication, the construction team for the building, donors and partners, regional and district health directorates, and the people of Anyima for their support and cooperation.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
