The Rotary Club of Sunyani – Central and Farmville have donated medical equipment worth $73, 063.02 to 13 health facilities in the Bono and Ashanti Regions.

The donation forms part of the Club’s objectives of augmenting health care delivery, particularly, maternal and pediatric health care in the various communities. 

According to the President of Rotary Club of Sunyani –Central, Johnson Mawuli Tsagli-Awor, funds were raised to purchase the items through the Rotary Foundation Global Grant GG 2096430 and presented to the beneficiary facilities at a short ceremony at the 3BN in Sunyani. 

The facilities are the Bono Regional Hospital, Sunyani Municipal Hospital, 3 Medical Reception Station –Liberation Barracks, and Watchman CHPs –Sunyani. Others are Trinity Hospital –Kumasi, Yawsae Health Center- Sunyani, Antwikrom Health Center –Sunyani, and Owusu Memorial Hospital – Sunyani. The rest are Abesim Health Center, SDA Hospital – Sunyani, Yawhima Health Center, Nkrankrom CHPs, and Atronie Health Center.

The equipment includes 50 Warmers, 178 Baby suction devices, 34 packets of Examination gloves, a Defibrillator, and a Cardiac Monitor. The rest are 5 Wheelchairs, 5 Hospital Beds, ECG machine, Simple Delivery Bed, Suction Machine, Nebuliser, Dental Chair, Autoclave, Delivery Bed, and a Microscope.

Mawuli Tsagli-Awor, the Club President, said the items were procured after a needs assessment at the various facilities to determine what each facility needs.

“Although it is the responsibility of the government to equip the health facilities, as our motto – Service above Self, and with our theme for the year- Serve to change lives, we decided to honor the needs of the facilities with these items”, he explained what necessitated their acts of benevolence.

He believes their widow’s mite will go a long way to save precious lives of health care seekers and help reduce the rate of Maternal and Infant Mortality in the region.

“When they are administering health care, it should not be discriminatory but rather a friendly one”, Tsagli-Awor entreated the health care personnel, and added, “Service should also not be rendered based on tribal or familiarity, but put service above self in a professional way to ensure proper and quality health care to their clients”.

The President appealed to the facilities to ensure proper care and maintenance of the items, to encourage the Clubs to do more to aid their work. 

He, however, assured that the Rotary Club would continue to collaborate with its partners to serve humanity in areas such as health, education, and sanitation.

Belinda Annan Mettle, the Principal Physician Assistant at the Abesim Health Center, in expressing her gratitude to the Rotary Club of Sunyani-Central said the items, such as the Nico blankets, will help keep the premature babies warm. 

She, however, appealed for more medical assistance and a borehole for the Educational CHPs zone at Abesim to ease their sanitation challenges.

The Nurse Manager at the Sunyani Municipal Hospital, Mercy Fordjor, also thanked the Club for their continuous support to the hospital and appealed for other items such as Incubators, Continuous positive airway pressure(CPAP), and pulse oximeterto help boost the care of newborn babies.

Speaking on behalf of the 3 Garrison, the Commanding officer, Armored Training School, Lt Col Dominic Buah, reiterated the need to manage the limited equipment that government and other benevolent clubs such as Rotary donates to ensure citizens are in good health.

He also assured the Rotary Club that as the 3 Medical Reception Station at the 3 Garrison is opened to the general public, the items would be put to good use and maintained well in anticipation of more donations to stock the near-completed expansion facility.