Ghana’s leading hospitals, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, have both received Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from the Bayer AG and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The PPE donation, which is within the framework of the Ghana Heart Initiative (GHI), is a direct response to the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global COVID-19 pandemic hit the project and its activities harshly. Dr. Alfred Doku, cardiologist at KBTH and senior consultant to the GHI, stated: “The GHI was sadly influenced by the current pandemic last month, when we had to accept the passing of our Governance Committee chair Prof. Plange-Rhule due to a COVID-19 infection. This painful news highlighted the urgent need for increased security measures within our hospitals.”
At a brief event to address this need, Bayer and GIZ donated 3,000 examination gloves, 200 protective goggles, 200 protective gowns, 200 face shields, 2000 surgical masks and 2000 particulate respirators (N95) jointly to KBTH and KATH.
The GIZ Project Coordinator of the GHI, Ms. Juliette Edzeame, indicated that the donation aims to immediately increase security measures at the KBTH and KATH by protecting frontline healthcare workers and prospectively encourage the further implementation of the GHI that targets a better management of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) as one of the main risk factors for suffering from severe courses of COVID-19.
Receiving the donated items on behalf of the CEO, Dr. Daniel Asare, DNS Rita Aryee, Director of Nursing Services who led the hospital team expressed gratitude to the Ghana Heart Initiative and remarked, that this donation is timely as in a day over 40 protective overalls are used and disposed of.
She added that PPEs are an essential part of the work in hospitals and the donated items will go a long way to safeguard the health of staff involved in the management of COVID-19 at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
