The Foundation for Special Surgery has initiated processes for the construction of a 2 level, ultra-modern surgical hospital in Accra, Ghana.

The facility when completed will be called the West Africa Institute of Special Surgery(WAISS).

The 40-bed capacity facility seeks to provide highly specialized surgical care to Ghanaians and West Africa at large.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, the Founder of the Foundation for Special Surgery, Dr Kofi Boahene, said the facility will provide people with access to quality and affordable surgical care without having to travel miles.

“In Africa, we don’t have the expert doctors. We have good doctors but when it comes to certain sophisticated care, we don’t have specialists, and we don’t have the facilities to do those things. So when people get sick, or they need some specialized care, those who can, travel to South Africa, India to get health care but not everybody can get on a plane to seek health care. There’s nothing better than being taken care of right at home. Instead of taking care of people out there, we want to bring it home,” he said.

International Development Consultant, Anthony Boateng who doubles as a partner to the project, emphasized the impact the facility will have on livelihoods and the economy of Ghana.

“Mostly, I look at the economic benefit because if you’re taking care of a patient most often at times they come with their family members and this is specialized surgery, so you would have people coming from all walks of life and the sub-region. And usually, you have high net-worth individuals coming, so they come in, and they have their family members coming with them and going around, doing a bit of tourism, leaving some footprints in terms of their dollars to help the economy. So I think it’s not just saving lives, it has the livelihood aspect, creating jobs and other things and that is where you get the sustainability element in the project,” he explained.

A facial plastic surgeon in Germany who is also a member of the foundation, Dr Holger Gassner, called for more support to ensure the success of the project.

“It is really well deserved to thank those who have made big commitments….they have all contributed 5 or 6 digit figures to jump-start this project. And maybe if I can also utilize this as a message home to ask those willing and able to consider contributing as well, to do so. This is a very worthwhile project, I think every euro and every dollar is really getting to the course, and we’re very grateful for continued support, and we’ll need it,” he urged.