Management of the Upper East Regional Hospital and stakeholders have launched a fundraising scheme for the construction of a Hemodialysis centre.
The initiative aims at ameliorating the plight of kidney patients accessing dialysis services at the Tamale Teaching Hospital and reducing the rate of kidney failure mortality in the region.
According to management of the hospital, 15 persons with kidney diseases died in 2022 due to the non-existent of a dialysis centre.
Speaking at the event in Bolgatanga, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Aiden Suntaa Saanwie underscored the urgent need for a hemodialysis centre to cater for the needs of kidney patients and avert the needless deaths associated with access to care.
He stated that the construction of a dialysis centre in the region will reduce indirect costs of patients and reduce by 60 percent all renal-related deaths.
He further hinted that an estimate of GH¢800,000.00 will be required for the construction of a hemodialysis centre and appealed to stakeholders to support the course.
Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, admonished all and sundry to embrace the initiative and contribute enormously to the construction of the dialysis centre to save lives.
He called on all Municipal and District Assemblies together with the Regional Coordinating Council to donate GH¢80,000.00 towards the construction of the centre.
For his part, Chairman for the occasion and Paramount Chief of the Talensi traditional area, Tongraan Kugbilsong Nanlebegtanga, described the lack of a dialysis centre in the region as a shame and assured that he will work assiduously with players in the mining sector to execute the construction of the dialysis centre.
“It is a shame that our hospital which even came before the Wa hospital has two dialysis centres and we (Upper East Region) have none. We don’t have a regional hospital, this is not the hospital that I want to call a regional hospital but this is what we have now so let us try as much as we can to support it ourselves”.
“I have had discussions with our business partners within the mining sector in the region, and it’s most likely we shall cover the whole project,” he said.
Tongraan, admonished citizenry of the region to initiate and support developmental projects to bridge the developmental gaps between the region and other regions of the North.
There was a donation of GH¢25,000.00 by Endswell Pharmacy and cash collection of GH¢14,000.00 for the project.
