In June this year, Joy News brought to the fore, the plight of parents of two-month-old conjoined twins, who needed financial assistance to enable their babies undergo surgery to separate them.

Justine Bansah and Samuel Addo needed an initial amount of GH¢3million to be paid to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge) for the surgery to be conducted.

The Siamese twins are conjoined at the head and the surgery will make it possible for them to live independently.

A Neurosurgeon at the Ridge Hospital, Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, in an interview with JoyNews revealed that the type of surgery to be performed is complicated and expensive.

“The cost is quite expensive and very relative. When we did our search, this can cost between $1.5 million and 4.6 million dollars out there.

“And when we did the local estimates, we came to around GH¢3,000,000.00 which is almost half a million dollars,” he added.

To help raise funds for the surgery, a whole edition of Joy FM's Super Morning Show was dedicated to discussions on the plight of the Bansah babies.

An appeal for funds was subsequently launched. Bank Account and Mobile Money numbers were announced for members of the general public to contribute.

The Chief Operating Officer of the Multimedia Group, Kenneth Ansah set the tone by donating $500. The host of Cosmopolitan show, Doreen Andoh contributed an undisclosed amount of money and pledged to support them with clothes.

Listeners to the Show who were moved by the circumstances of the twins contributed generously in cash and kind to help raise the needed amount.

Others who also assisted the JoyNews campaign with their resources were MP for the Amasaman constituency, Akwasi Owusu Afrifa, with an amount of GH¢5,000 and Euracare Advanced Diagnostics and Heart Centre, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility provided free scans.

The campaign to support these twins continued until it reached the seat of government.

Today, July 5, the Chief of Staff, Frema Osei Opare, visited the twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and made the big announcement.

“It is my pleasure to announce that the President has said that all related costs, all the cost of this exercise, the state is willing to take over and is ready to take over the cost.

“The President recognises the fact that this effort that you want to put in, is very much in line with the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. We also noted in a cabinet meeting that this is an opportunity to also equip us to do complicated surgeries and so on,” the Chief of Staff told the doctors.

According to her, the Presidency is allocating GH¢15million to pay for the entire procedure out of which GH¢12million will be spent on specialized equipment needed for the surgery. 

The remaining GH¢3million will be used to procure consumables, medication, and tests that the family would have had to pay for, during the 12-18-month procedure to separate the siamese twins.

Mrs Frema Opare also noted that the prayers of over 25 million Ghanaians will be behind the family and the medical team to ensure the surgery is successful.

“We are also going to back you in prayers, I will even call on all Ghanaians to back our daughters with prayers because this is a historic moment and they need not just our money, they need our moral support to know that there is a nation behind them," she said.