The media practitioners in the Upper East Region have been commended for leading the charge as advocacy for the establishment of a hemodialysis centre at the Upper East Regional Hospital intensifies.
After the successful launch of a fundraising exercise, the lead advocate, Dr. Emmanuel Akatibo, showered praise on the media. While overwhelmed by the show of love and commitment by the people of the region, Dr. Akatibo admitted that such a gathering would not have been possible if the media didn’t support the agenda.
He spoke to Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.
“I think that if we can learn from the people of the Upper East Region, what happened yesterday, we think that despite our differences in colour, location, and language, if we commit to projects that benefit everybody and not just people from individual groups, and always come together despite the differences, we would achieve a lot. Yes, we would want the government to achieve a lot for us but in the current situation we find ourselves in, it is not possible that the government would be able to provide everything for you. Where we find needs and think it is important, we can always come together and support each other.”
“I want to thank the media for giving us the support. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support. The media did so well. They gave us the airtime and supported us in all these ways for us to get to wherever we have got to now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu, has pledged to donate to the establishment of a hemodialysis centre at the Upper East Regional Hospital, a total amount of Ghc5,000. Again, the minister tasked all 15 MDCEs, to raise similar amounts, towards the construction of the facility.
Mr. Yakubu made the pledge at the durbar to launch a fund raising exercise.
At a ceremony to raise money for the building of a hemodialysis centre at the Upper East Regional Hospital, more than Ghc14,000 in cash was accumulated. Several attendees also made pledges totaling Ghc114,000 at the occasion.
“From the figures that I am getting, for cash, they got about Ghc14,000 then the pledges was about Ghc114,000. They were some other pledges that would come our way but we are to holding on to that for some clarification.”
Ends Well Pharmacy, a leading pharmaceutical dispensing and distribution company in the region, also committed Ghc25,000 towards the establishment of the facility. Additionally, many traditional, religious, and political leaders committed various sums to the establishment of the facility.
The lead advocate for the establishment of the facility, Dr. Emmanuel Akatibo, was overwhelmed by the show of support when he spoke on the Day Break Upper East Show, Friday, March 4, 2023.
“By God’s Grace, we had the durbar done and had the fundraising done. It was really a successful one. I was so elated and happy that our father, the Tongoraan, accepted the invitation to chair the programme. The regional minister was also there, along with most of the MDCEs. We also had the clergy there. We also had representatives of various institutions and individuals. It was a very successful programme. It was the beginning of the fundraising. We would continue to ensure that this comes to fruition,” he said.
Dr. Akatibo explained that a dedicated bank account along with a mobile money account had been set up to enable the organisers collect more resources towards the establishment of the facility.
Dr. Akatibo appealed for more support from philantropic individuals and organisation to fastrack the process.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
