Medical doctors are set to perform the first local separation of twins conjoined at the head next month.
A team of 166 specialists, pooled both local and internationally, are still
engaging to facilitate the process.
The Minister of Health, Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said
the government had made available funds needed to start the procurement of
equipment and commodities needed for the surgery as promised by President Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The minister made that known when he joined an NGO,
New Africa Foundation, to present a two-year rented five-bedroom house to the
family of the twins to enable them move from Nsawam to Accra as they pursue
medical care for the twins.
He
expressed gratitude to the organisation for the gesture.
“What
the foundation has done is a demonstration of how Ghanaians would want to care
for those who are vulnerable,” Mr. Agyeman-Manu said.
The conjoined twins were delivered at Nsawam on March 30, 2021, but were
transferred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital immediately for the
necessary medical interventions that would lead to their separation.
The
Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Mrs. Charity Sarpong,
said since March 2020, the technical team of specialists from all over the
country had been collaborating with international medical specialists in
preparations towards the scheduled September separation procedure.
“We
hope to see a very successful operation,” she said.
She
said there had been a lot of support trickling in for both the family and the
medical team.
“We
are all aware of what the President did, promising that they would help with
all medical bills for separating the conjoined twins. I must say that the
general public has also been very supportive, and today we are here for another
very important purpose,” she said.
Why
Accommodation
The Head of the foundation, Nana Kwame Bediako, said
the specific support was to provide the appropriate environment for the family
to deal with the psychological and other issues concerning the children’s care.
The family live in a one-bedroom house at Nsawam in
the Eastern Region.
“We also consulted the medical team on our intention
to provide the family with an accommodation, and they told us that if we could
find accommodation closer to the Ridge Hospital of about two or three minutes
away, it would be beneficial because over the next few months to years, the
hospital is going to be their part-time home because the twins would need
medical care after the separation for some time,” he said.
He said the foundation would consider the next step
after the two-year rent period.
Mr. Bediako called the twins a blessing to their
family because they had brought so much positive attention and support to their
parents.
Source: graphic.com
No comments