Lordina Foundation Resource Hospitals in Southern Volta Region

The First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, through her charity organization, The Lordina Foundation gave health workers, as well as the chiefs and people of the Volta Region a lot to smile about when she presented medical equipment to some district hospitals in the southern part of the region. Mrs. Lordina Mahama says she believes that the provision of quality healthcare is important in keeping the people healthy and empowers them both socially and economically. Since the launch of the Alternative Source of Income Programme, now the Lordina Foundation, in 2009, one of its primary objectives is to bridge the gap between the fortunate and the unfortunate, especially in the area of health. So far the Lordina Foundation's medical supply programme has already benefited public health institutions in the Northern, Brong Ahafo, Western, and Central regions, as well as parts of the greater Accra and Volta regions. The current consignments of supplies have been donated to four more district hospitals in Kpedze, Aflao, Keta, and Sogakope, all in the Volta region and La Polyclinic in Accra. The structure of the Kpedze Polyclinic, in the Ho-West constituency, had existed as a dispensary and maternity unit before Ghana's independence in 1957. In 1974 it gained a health centre status and now is a Polyclinic. However, the Fiaga of the Kpedze Traditional area, Togbega Atsridom V (the fifth) and his people, as well as the authorities of the clinic say the polyclinic status is just a mirage, since basic medical supplies are scanty. The Lordina Foundation's donation therefore came just at the right time. They urged the First Lady to do more and also get others, especially the government to pay some attention to the facility and resource it to its capacity. They were thankful to the Lordina Foundation. Mrs. Lordina Mahama was pleased that her efforts at complementing the government�s efforts to strengthen the health sector are yielding results. To the people of Aflao, and the Ketu South Municipal Hospital, Mrs. Mahama is a humanitarian and philanthropist, whose passion for the welfare of humanity can be tapped into for the benefit of all, especially the less privileged in society. The paramount Chief of the Aflao traditional area, Torgbui Amenya Fiti, noted that Aflao is an important border town that could easily be threatened by disease outbreak due to the flow of people through its borders. Mrs. Lordina Mahama remarked that as a border and a busy commercial town, as well as an international transit centre, Aflao has played a major role in the development of Ghana, hence its prominence on her list of health facilities to be resourced with medical supplies by the Lordina foundation. Mrs. Mahama said due to the cosmopolitan nature of Aflao, it needs to embrace preventive care, which still remains the best guarantee for good health. The Keta Municipal Hospital was initially established at Fort Prinzenstern in 1926 and later relocated at Dzelukope in 1935 due to the then devastating sea erosion. It is a referral facility for other health centers in the municipality, to provide, among others, communicable disease control and environmental healthcare. The National President of the Lordina Foundation, Mrs. Lordina Mahama said the Foundation is committed to turning out healthy communities which ultimately will be empowered to contribute to the development of the area and the country as a whole. On the last leg of her medical outreach tour at the Sogakope District Hospital in the Volta region, Mrs. Mahama said her recognition of the importance of health to the economic and commercial well being of the people, is the main driving force behind her benevolent nature. Though the authorities of the hospital were gratefully for the medical supplies, they lamented that the facility is underutilized. They say until the hospital is fully resourced as an accident and trauma center to mange accident cases on the transnational Aflao road network, it is not serving the purpose for which it was built. Mrs. Mahama gave the assurance that their concerns would be communicated to the appropriate authorities. The donations of medical supplies to public health facilities across the country has been made possible by a collaborative efforts between the Lordina Foundation and MedShare, a US-based non-governmental organization, which is dedicated to improving healthcare through efficient recovery and redistribution of medical supplies and equipment to undeserved healthcare facilities in developing countries.