The Rotary Clubs of Accra-East in Ghana and Eau Claire in the United States of America, with support from the Rotary Foundation, have donated fifty thermal coagulators to the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre of the Battor Catholic Hospital in the Volta Region to advance cervical cancer prevention and treatment in the country.
The support worth seventy thousand US dollars ($70,000) is aimed, among other things, at making life-saving care more accessible to women in need of cervical cancer services across the country.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women in Ghana after breast cancer. Statistics show that nearly three thousand new cases are reported annually in the country, with close to two thousand women dying annually from the disease.
The devices, acquired through a global grant project, aim, among other things, at equipping 50 health institutions across the country with cervical cancer detection devices in the fight against cervical cancer.
The specialized cervical pre-cancer treatment devices would be used to treat precancerous lesions of the cervix within 45 seconds so that they do not progress to cancer.
The ceremony was attended by dignitaries such as the Paramount Queen mother of the Mepe Traditional Area, Mamaga Adzo Sreku IV, North Tongu District Chief Executive, Divine Osborne Fenu, District Director of Health Services for the area, Michael Ziggah, Medical Director of Battor Hospital, Dr. Bernard Atuguba, as well as his administrator, Donatus Adaletey. Also present were several Rotarians, healthcare professionals and community leaders, as well as a section of the general public.
Nurses and trainees from several health institutions across the country, who are currently receiving training on cervical cancer at the Battor Centre, were presented with the thermal coagulators for use in their respective hospitals on their return.
Speaking at the event, the President of the Rotary Club of Accra-East, Serge Sourou Oga, noted that the gesture was a significant step towards the fight against cervical cancer in Ghana.
Head of the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Centre at the Battor Hospital, Dr. Kofi Effah, touched on the challenges of treating cervical cancer that have over the years necessitated collective efforts at dealing with the problem.
Some of the health institutions that received the devices at the ceremony included the Greater Accra Regional or Ridge Hospital in Accra, the St. Anthony’s Hospital at Dzodze in the Volta Region, the War Memorial Hospital at Navrongo in the Upper East Region, the Upper West Regional Hospital at Wa, the University of Ghana Medical Centre at Legon-Accra, and the Kintampo Municipal Hospital in the Bono East Region.
