The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is to lead a campaign to raise $10 million to renovate inpatient wards of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

Since its establishment in 1955, the hospital has not seen any major renovation and this is having an effect on inpatient care.

The renovation of blocks A, B, C, and D is expected to be executed as part of the legacy projects marking the 25th Anniversary celebration of the enstoolment of the Asantehene next year.

Otumfuo made the pledge last Thursday, when the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Prof. Otchere Addai-Mensah, introduced the ‘Heal Komfo Anokye Project’ team to him at the Manhyia Palace.

The visit was also to present a technical and financial proposal developed by the team to guide the renovation of the 70-year-old health facility to the Asantehene and seek his support.

Strategic

Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II described KATH as a strategic institution that occupied a unique position in the healthcare system of the country as well as the social, cultural and historical heritage of the Asante kingdom.

It, therefore, behoves all stakeholders to ensure that it was not only preserved, but given all the needed support to enable it to play its role effectively and efficiently.

He said while waiting for the government to complete other health facilities such as the Afari Military Hospital, the Sewua Regional Hospital and the Kumawu District Hospital, all in the Ashanti Region, all efforts must be made to ensure KATH was in good condition to provide the healthcare needs of the people in the region and beyond.

“For a hospital that has been the sole provider of tertiary health care in this region and beyond for decades and also named after the founding chief priest of the Asanteman, it will be unacceptable to allow it to fall into a state of disrepair, hence my readiness to lead the crusade for its restoration”, the Asantehene emphasised.

He remarked that unlike Greater Accra which had Korle Bu, 37 Military Hospital, Ridge and the University of Ghana Medical Centre, “Ashanti Region has just KATH to train medical students and also provide specialised health care to the people in the region.”

Support fundraiser

While commending the KATH CEO and members of the “Heal Komfo Anokye Project” team for their commitment to the project, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II charged the committee to formally launch the fundraising campaign to ensure the mobilisation of the needed resources to renovate and modernise the old blocks to provide better service to patients from the region and referrals from other regions.

He urged the public and corporate institutions to support the fundraising drive when it was launched to ensure the successful execution of the project.

Also, the Asantehene named Hiahene, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, who is also the founder of Foundation of Orthopaedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS), as his representative on the project team.

Rationale for the renovation

Prof. Addai-Mensah said when he took over as the CEO in December last year, the need to give the hospital a fitting status became a priority.

“Even though routine repairs have been done over the years, they were not enough to address the enormous wear and tear that the blocks have undergone over the past seven decades, hence the need for comprehensive renovation”, he said.

He expressed his gratitude to the Asantehene for pledging to support the management to give the hospital the much-needed facelift.

$10 each

The Chairman of the “Heal Komfo Anokye Project” team, Samuel Adu-Boakye, said the proposal had a comprehensive marketing and communication strategy to help raise the needed funds from well-meaning members of the public and corporate Ghana.

“If we can get just a million Ghanaians to donate $10 each, $10 million can be raised in no time to ensure the timely execution of this project for the benefit of the entire people of Ghana, given the wide catchment area of the hospital” he appealed.

The lead architect of the team, Kojo Darko-Asante, said the project was meticulously put together by a team of technical and engineering experts after a painstaking assessment of the wards and it would transform the wards at the hospital into a world-class patient-friendly facility when successfully executed.