The Director of Health at the Shai Osudoku District and the medical staff at the Ayikuma CHPs compound near Dodowa are delighted with the improvement in the health care delivery at the facility, particularly in the field of maternity health care.

Their excitement follows the receipt of a state-of-the-art Philips iU22 ultrasound scan machine that offers the best image quality possible through xMatrix transducers with the best aspects of single-crystal and 4D transducers.

Swiss nationals, Andreas Frick and his wife, Gritz Frick presented the machine to the facility through their friends in Ghana - Emmanuel Kwasi Afriyie, Director of Communications at the Youth Employment Agency and Michael Amfo Afriyie, CEO of Riva Swiss Hospital at Ejisu.

The donation was in fulfilment of a pledge the Fricks made to officials of the health centre on their visit to Ghana last year.

They were impressed by the creation of the CHPS compound but were concerned about the lack of requisite equipment, especially in the area of maternal healthcare and promised to support the centre through their friends in Ghana.

True to their words, Andreas Frick and his wife both of whom live and work in the health sector in Switzerland made good their words and delegated their local representative to undertake the gesture on their behalf.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the machine, Mr Kwasi Afriyie said the Swiss nationals were touched when they toured the facility and pledged to support pregnant women in the community.

"This gesture by Andreas and his wife is a significant contribution, which they hope will make a great impact at this facility," he said.

On his part, the District Director of Health Services at Shai Osudoku Rev. Dr Ebenezer Asiamah expressed his gratitude for the donation.

He said the facility has been losing out on patients especially pregnant women because it does not have a modern scan machine.

Dr Asiamah was hopeful that this will bring life to the centre and reduce the burden of antenatal health care on the Shai Osudoku District Hospital.

He said the District was looking forward to expressing their appreciation to the Fricks in person in the near future.

"We are very grateful and we look forward to getting more," he said.

The midwife in charge of the Ayikuma CHPs compound, Wilhemina Dadebo, and the entire staff were highly elated and promised to keep the machine with utmost care to ensure that it lasts enough to serve a lot more people.

Kenneth Nartey, a senior Research Officer in the Shai Osudoku District, said with the donation they are all encouraged to support the CHPs compound to improve healthcare delivery in Ayikuma and the adjoining communities.

The Philips iU22 is a premium shared-service ultrasound machine that offers the best image quality possible through xMatrix transducers that offer the best aspects of single-crystal and 4D transducers.

It also offers top-of-the-line image quality and features available for Radiology, OB/GYN, Cardiac, Vascular and even speciality imaging like MSK, Pediatric, and Elastography.