Oxfam in Ghana, in collaboration with Norsaac, has donated medical equipment and consumables worth GHC1.5 million to the Tamale Technical University (TaTU) Hospital and other seven district hospitals to improve healthcare delivery, particularly for adolescents and young people.
The support forms part of the Power to Choose Project, a programme being implemented in seven countries across Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. In Ghana, the project is being implemented in eight districts across five regions with funding from Global Affairs Canada through Oxfam in Ghana.
The items presented to the hospital include delivery beds, maternity beds, blood pressure monitors, delivery kits, neonatal resuscitations, newborn weighing scale, autoclips, oxygen equipment, essential medical consumables and commodities.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony held at the forecourt of the TaTU Hospital, Oxfam’s Accountable Governance, Policy and Programmes Manager, Alhaji Mohammed Mahamoud, said the donation was intended to address critical gaps identified in beneficiary health facilities and improve the quality of healthcare services.
He disclosed that before the procurement of the equipment, about 102 healthcare workers from beneficiary facilities had undergone training in youth-friendly health service provision and maternal healthcare delivery.
According to him, the training was facilitated by the Ghana Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians in collaboration with their Canadian counterparts. Alhaji Mahamoud expressed optimism that the equipment would improve healthcare services and contribute to better maternal and adolescent health outcomes in the project areas.
The Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Chrysantus Kubio, commended Oxfam and its partners for the intervention, describing TaTU Hospital and St. Lucy Hospital as critical healthcare facilities serving both the university community and residents within the Sagnarigu Municipality, where the Power to Choose Project is being implemented.
He noted that the support would help strengthen healthcare delivery and improve access to quality reproductive and maternal health services.
Executive Director of Norsaac, Alhassan Mohammed Awal, urged the hospital management to ensure that healthcare services remain inclusive and accessible to all, especially vulnerable groups.
He further appealed to health facilities to intensify efforts in combating sexual and gender-based violence, expressing concern over reports that some institutions sometimes aid perpetrators to evade justice.
Director of University Health Services at Tamale Technical University, Dr Atuguba Adayele Martin, described the donation as timely and crucial.
He revealed that the hospital currently operates with only 53 beds, a situation that occasionally compels some patients to be accommodated on the floor due to inadequate bed capacity.
Dr Atuguba explained that students and staff of the university, together with residents within the Education Ridge enclave, account for only about 15 per cent of the hospital’s patient population, while the majority of patients come from surrounding districts, thereby placing enormous pressure on the facility.
He expressed gratitude to Oxfam and Norsaac for the support, saying the equipment would greatly enhance service delivery and improve patient care at the hospital.
