The Ho Teaching Hospital, one of Ghana’s leading health facility on Thursday, June 25, 2021, officially launched the Cardiothoracic Disease Center Fundraising Project aimed at equipping the hospital’s cardiothoracic center.
The ambitious “Save a Life, Save a Heart Fundraising Project” will see the teaching hospital and its partners raise more than $3.2 million to improve the already existing center with modern state-of-the-art equipment, making it a reference center for patients suffering from various cardiovascular issues in Ghana and across the subregion.
The first of such projects was started in 1992 by veteran cardiothoracic surgeons and former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, who had only returned from Germany at the time to establish the National Cardiothoracic Center at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The center according to reports remains the country’s only specialized institution with the needed expertise to treat and manage patients with all forms of heart condition.
Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr. John Tampuori speaking at the launch of the project said the initiative has the possibility of making Ho Teaching Hospital a medical tourist center in the Volta Region noting that centers of such magnitude can manage both lungs and heart diseases.
“The initiation of the project is to make sure Ho Teaching Hospital becomes the newest medical tourist center in the Volta Region. It must be noted that a fully functional and well-resourced cardiovascular center positioned to holistically manage both lungs and heart diseases will enable the hospital to offer world-class services to its numerous clients.
The Volta Regional Minister through his representative, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa endorsed the project, confirming support towards raising funds.
Below is an excerpt of his speech
I implore each and every one of us to join the “save a heart, save a life” campaign. We know that the cardiothoracic center we are embarking on will be second to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in the country. Therefore, if we put our efforts together, we can have an additional center that will cater to everybody in the Volta Region as well as the Oti Region and the neighboring countries like Togo, Benin, and even Nigeria.
This project is to raise funds for a greater cause. Let us join hands to achieve this common goal.
The “Save a Heart, Save a Life Fundraising Project” is organized by ICS Africa (Impact Concept Solutions) an African-based business solutions company offering Event Engineering, Marketing, and Communication as well as Management Consulting services.
About Ho Teaching Hospital
Ho Teaching Hospital is the fifth public Teaching Hospital in Ghana. It was re-commissioned by the Minister of Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang Manu as a Teaching Hospital on the 29th April 2019 after the Hospital went through a rigorous accreditation process by all the Health Professional Regulatory Bodies and the Health Facilities Regulatory Authority.
The Hospital was constructed by Kaevener Construction International of the United Kingdom and handed over to the Government of Ghana in November 1998.
It commenced service delivery in April 1999 on a small scale.
In December 2000, the Hospital was officially commissioned as the Volta Regional Hospital by former President John Jerry Rawlings and his wife.