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Diasporia News of Monday, 10 June 2013

Source: Keller, Abena

Kwahuman Europe Foundation donate Ambulances

.....to two Hospitals in Ghana.


The Kwahuman Europe Foundation donated two Ambulances to Health Institutions in the Eastern Region of Ghana, namely the Kwahu Government Hospital and the Kwahu East District Health Administration. The Kwahu East District Health Administration supersees the operations of five health centres in the Kwahu East Distict namely the Kotoso Reproductive Health Centre, St. Joseph's Health Centre at Kwahu Tafo, Nkwatia Health Centre, Abetifi Health Centre and Pepease Health Centre.

The Kwahuman Europe Foundation,a legally registered and officially recognised Foundation in the European community has its Headquaters in Holland-Den-Haag.
Current participating Member associations are France, Den Haag (Holland), Italy and Switzerland . The Foundation has contributed in diverse ways since its formation towards Ghana’s socioeconomic development. It donated similar Ambulances to the Atibie and Agogo Hospitals six years ago.This recent donation was made as the the Hospital administration pleaded to the Foundation to come to their aid.

In a short email sent by the President of the Foundation, Dr Abena Keller noted that “this donation is to supplement Government’s efforts to decentralize essential resources to our towns and villages which are less resourced.”
In his speech during the presentation of the Ambulances at the forecourt of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Honourable Deputy Minister, Kwesi Quartey, on behalf of the Honourable Minister, Ms Hannah Tetteh, acknowledged the significance of the country’s diaspora to the social, economic and manpower needs of Ghana. It is in this light that the Ministry has in collaboration with the IOM (Ghana) with help from the Centre for International Migration, a partner agency of the GIZ established the Diaspora Support Unit (DSU) under the Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ministry.

The DSU, the Honourable Minister held, is to mobilise the country’s Diaspora towards Ghanas‘ socioeconomic development, through proactive dialogue and sustained engagement. He advised that, our compatriots abroad are encouraged to engage the institutions of the state through the various Ghanaian Missions abroad which have a direct link with the Diaspora Support Unit to facilitate their efforts in all their endeavours.

Honourable Kwesi Quartey admitted that there are many ways in which the diaspora can contribute to National development. The role of the diaspora in national development is therefore without question. He concluded by assuring the gathering that the Ambulances shall be well maintained and put to good use for the benefit of the entire country and the Kwahu Traditonal Area in particular.
On her part, the Honourable Minister of Health through her representative, Dr Ahmed Zakariah, Director of the National Ambulance Service, emphasised the significance of the Ambulances in providing timely and efficient healthcare services to the citizenry at a time when the Government is trying to extend essential service provision to the localities of the people and by so doing decongesting the district and regional hospitals.Dr. Ahmed Zakariah thanked the KEF for this timely presentation, hinting that the Ambulances are surely going to improve health service delivery.

Dr. Kwame Buabeng-Frimpong while thanking the KEF and the Ministries for their contribution in making the presentation possible revealed that clearing the Ambulances was not without hindrances. He called on all institutions that play roles in the clearance of such donations from the country's port to be much more proactive in assisting the DSU and donors, since that is the only way the diaspora community will be motivated in their quest to support the country’s development with resources of such kinds.

During discussions and on the heels of Dr. Buabeng-Frimpong’s advice, Mr. Kwaku Yeboah of the Diaspora Support Unit hinted that Honourable Seth Acheampong MP for Mpraeso has promised to support and advice on the clearing of an additional support van for the hospital that is yet to be cleared from the Tema Habour.
Dignitaries who graced the presentation included, Dr. Ahmed Zakariah, Director of the National Ambulance Service who stood in for the Honourable Minister of Health, Ms. Jane Gasu, Deputy Director of the Legal and Consular Bureau of the Foreign Ministry, representatives of the end users led by Dr. Buabeng-Frimpong and Directors from the various Ministries and Agencies constituting the DSU’s project stakeholder Committee, some KEF members and diaspora community in Ghana, and local representatives of the Kwahuman Development Association (KDA).

Contacts:
General Secretary
kwaforson@gmail.com
Dr. Abena Keller
President, Kwahuman Europe Foundation
Email: abena.keller@gmail.com
http://kwahumaneuropefoundation.eu/