In the company of the First Lady of Guyana, Arya Ali, the two visited the Rebecca Akufo-Addo Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Rebecca Akufo-Addo Sunshine Hostel, all built through the Rebecca Foundation.

Purpose of visit

The purpose of the visit, she said, was to assess the current conditions of the facilities since they were built in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

The two toured the facilities and also made some donations.

At the PICU, Dr Frank Owusu Sekyere, Director of Medical Affairs, KBTH said the facility, since it was established, has been of immense benefit to a lot of children who otherwise would have died.

Giving statistics, he said because of the ventilatory support at the facility, of the 149 children who have currently been on it so far, 79 survived.

Hitherto, some four year ago, what pertained at the facility was that all 149 would have died so the situation, he said, had improved dramatically.

The Head of Department, Child Health, Prof. Crystabel Enweronu-Laryea, said since 2019 a total of 700 children have benefited from the facility.

She said although they still have challenges, the challenges were peculiar to all Intensive Care Units (ICU).

Mrs Akufo-Addo presented two split air conditioners to the facility.

At the Sunshine Hostel, which accommodates children who are on treatment for cancer and their guardians, Prof. Awo Renner said at every point in time the hostel hosts about 25 to 30 children, their mothers and sometimes younger siblings who are all accommodated and fed free of charge.

This, she said has helped curb abandonment rates which used to be at 40 per cent but was now around 15 per cent.

So far she said over 200 children have passed through the facility successfully and thanked the First Lady for her support.

She was proud that the hostel was a first and therefore the envy of a lot of countries across Africa and the world at large in the area of cancer treatment for children as it helped to provide a steady source of accommodation for guardians who otherwise would have had to travel from far.

She added that mothers who stay at the facility are also given skills training such as bead making so that when they go back they can earn an income.

The Hostel Warden, Vida Ampiah, who took the First Lady and her colleague round the facility, said currently 29 children and their parents were staying at the hostel.

She said they have play areas, learning and television rooms, a dining area and also a kitchen where the mothers are also made to take turns in learning how to cook nutritious meals for their sick wards.

Gratitude

A mother from Tarkwa, Evelyn Gyasi, who spoke to the Daily Graphic said she was grateful for the support of the First Lady as she would have had to travel from Tarkwa to Accra every week for chemotherapy for her five-year-old daughter.

She said together with her daughter who has cancer of the kidney, liver and heart, they have been living in the facility for free for the past five months and it has been of a huge social support for them.

The First Lady after the tour presented bags of rice, gallons of cooking oil, boxes of mackerels, milk, bags of beans, maize and palm oil to the hostel.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KBTH, Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah later presented a picture frame from the management and staff of the hospital to the First Lady for her invaluable support over the years.