Accra, Nov. 26, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Friday appealed to Ghanaian medical professionals abroad to consider the sacrifices the nation made in training them and come back home to render their due to their countrymen. He extended the nation's appreciation to those serving at home and assured them of the necessary government support to effectively discharge their duties, adding that qualitative medical care was one of the priorit= ies of government.

President Mills made the appeal when a delegation from the Foundation of Orthopaedic and Complex Spine, a non profit making medical group, led by its founder, Prof Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle. The organization, which has been operating in Ghana for more than 10=

years, is into the treatment of disability, trauma, injury, malformation, arthritis and problems of the spine. President Mills underscored the need for a healthy people for sustainable development and observed as quite refreshing the sacrifices o= f the group. He commended the leader as well as other Ghanaian medics who had returned home to offer their services. President Mills urged the doctors to go beyond the financial motive and return home to work in appreciation of the sacrifice of the many Ghanaian= s who broke their backs to see the medical professionals through school. He said they should resolve to put their expertise at the disposal o= f the weak at home.

The President appealed to medical professionals such as those in orthopaedics to give off their best so that physical impairment and defects could be treated at an early age. The Foundation has so far attracted 250 medical volunteers from the United States of America and from around the world. It has treated and performed surgeries on about 600 people who are mostly Ghanaians with the others from Europe. It has so far reviewed about 17,000 patients and facilitated medical=

training to those from abroad to handle local cases. According to Prof Oheneba- Boachie, there were 15 qualified orthopae= dic surgeons in Ghana against 29,000 in the US. He described the disparity as wide, and said the Foundation was tryi= ng to close the gap through capacity building and infrastructural developmen= t" to provide a Centre of Excellence for orthopaedic training in Africa." Prof Oheneba-Boachie said about 60,000 people of the world did not h= ave adequate access to orthopaedic service and appealed to government for the=

grant of tax relief for imported equipment for the Foundation. Dr Michael Mendelow, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon announced that the Foundation was teaming up with the US based Cure International to treat club-foot that affected about one in 2,000 new births in Ghana. 26 Nov. 10