A nine-member Board of Trustees for the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s (KBTH) Trust Fund has been inaugurated to manage its newly established trust fund.

It is an investible fund that is meant to mobilise resources to support needy patients as well as provide equipment and infrastructure, all aimed at improving the patients’ experience.

The Minister of Health, Alex Segbefia, who inaugurated the Board commended the leadership of KBTH for taking the initiative to set up the Fund.

"This initiative has come at a time that the country has been classified as a lower middle-income economy which has affected the flow of donor support and urged the other teaching hospitals to emulate same," he said.

"In spite of the massive injection of resources into Ghana’s premier teaching hospital, there is still the need for more support to enable Korle-Bu maintain its leadership role in providing healthcare services,” the Minister said. 

He advised the trustees to be accountable and transparent in the discharge of their duties as that is the only way to attract donors to contribute to the Fund.

The Board of Trustees is made up of Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal; Nana Obokomatta IX, the Amankorahene of Gomoa Akyimpim Traditional Council; Mr Thomas Svanikier, Chairman of Global Strategic Ventures Ltd; Nii Nikoi Amasa, Corporate Monitoring Manager, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority; and Rebecca Okai, a Procurement Specialist, Ministry of Communications’ eTransform Project.

The rest are Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies; Dr Seth Adjei Baah, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shaaba Group; Lawrence Addo, Managing Director of Relish Health Foods Ltd; and Dr. Gilbert Buckle, CEO of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

In an address, the CEO of KBTH, Dr. Buckle said that the establishment of the Fund was a dream which started a year ago and the idea was to create a vehicle for both public and private sector bodies to lend their support to the hospital.

He said the Trust Fund will go a long way to help people who cannot afford certain medical expenses and called on corporate bodies and philanthropists to donate generously to the Fund.

The KBTH Trust Fund was launched in March this year and realised an amount of GH₵700,000.00.