The First Lady of the Republic of Ghana and president of First Ladies on the African continent, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, has donated some surgical and medical equipment to the War Memorial Hospital in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.
The equipment include beds for the sick, plastic bondage, waste disposable units, strings and needles, gauze and many more others.
The donation forms part of the Lordina Foundation which is resolved to improve upon healthcare delivery in the country, including supporting in the reduction of the spread of HIV/AIDS, especially mother-to-child transmission, advocating against child marriage, supporting the orphanage and other vulnerable in the deprived communities, among others.
In her speech at the handing over ceremony in Navrongo of the Upper East Region, she said she was committed to aiding to reduce the health ills confronting the underprivileged in the society.
She said, the medical equipment would undoubtedly streamline healthcare delivery in the beneficiary hospitals in all the regions and pledged to expand the support to other health centres in the country anytime soon.
Mrs. Mahama touted the health personnel in the various hospitals and health centres in the region for their relentless commitment in providing quality healthcare, in spite of the limited equipment and other logistics at their disposal and charged them to sustain the status quo.
"I appreciate the efforts of the doctors, nurses and other health professionals for their commitment in providing quality healthcare to the residents of Navrongo and its environs.This will help achieve government’s social obligation of protecting the health of our citizens", she praised.
Turning the spotlight on child marriage, Mrs. Mahama poohpoohed parents who engaged in giving out their female wards for early marriage, describing the act as 'obnoxious and illegal'.
She explained the act could deprive them (the female children) of their good future and warned parents and guardians to prioritise their wards' education since that could help them to garner high academic laurels to wield the mantle of leadership in the nation in future.
She stressed, "I think the launch of the End Child Marriage campaign by the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is very laudable. In fact, child marriage is an obnoxious tradition that has no place in our enlightening 21st century world and cannot be mitigated by any cultural justification.
"These girls deserve a better future and I plead with you to help them to become responsible citizens".
The Upper East Regional Minister, Albert Abongo, praised Dr/Mrs. Mahama for her unrelenting support accorded orphans in the country, adding her contribution to health care delivery had out-scored all First Ladies in Africa.
According to him, Mrs. Mahama's philanthropic gesture in the areas of health and child protection had greatly affected the region.
For his part, the Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Kofi Issah, acknowledged the Lordina Foundation for its immense contribution in reducing HIV/AIDS endemic in the region.
He said HIV/AIDS prevalence had witnessed a considerable reduction in the Bolgatanga Municipality as the percentage dropped from 2.5 in 2014 to 1.4 in 2015.
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