Fifty 50 Club, an Obuasi-based Non-Profit Association made up of employees of AngloGold Ashanti and its subsidiaries and that of other corporate organisations across the country and abroad, has donated a total amount of GH¢25,000 to enable four patients undergo surgery.
The patients include a two-year-old Hole-in-Heart patient, a 42-year-old man diagnosed with Severe Mitral Valve Regurgitation, and a 9-year-old girl diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Cancer), and a sickle cell patient.
Founded in 2020, the Fifty 50 Club, with 245 members, makes monthly contributions in support of its objectives.
Blessing Ama Woode Kwamba, a 2-year-old girl from Obuasi diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD), also called hole-in-heart), at the National Cardiothoracic Center, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, was given an amount of GH¢10,000 towards a procedure/surgery to correct her condition.
James Danquah, 42, from Obuasi, who was diagnosed with an acquired heart disease called Severe Mitral Valve Regurgitation at the University of Ghana Medical Center, also received GH¢10,000 towards the cost of his surgery. The condition, as reported, was seriously affecting his health and required open heart surgery to replace the diseased valve with a mechanical prosthetic valve.
Nine-year-old Federica Owusu Yeboah was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Cancer) at the AGA Health Foundation in 2022, and was referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in April 2022, where cycles of treatment were started on May 5, 2022 and completed on May 27, 2023.
After her treatment, it was prudent to know if she had been completely cured off the cancer, for which she needed to do a CT Scan of her neck and chest at the cost of GH¢3,440.00, an amount Frederica’s family could no longer afford, because of previous expenditure son her treatment.
The Foundation, therefore, came to her aid with an amount of GH¢3,500 to pay for the cost of the CT Scan.
Frederick Agyeman Duah, a 6-year-old with sickle cell disorder with increased susceptibility to infections, low blood levels, bone and joint pains was also supported with an amount of GH¢1,000.
On the average, heart surgery in Ghana costs between $6,000 and $13,000, with the cost of heart surgery out of the reach of most Ghanaians, resulting in many patients left to wait for the benevolence of individuals and organisations, and in some cases, die before help would arrive.
Mr. Jacob Edmund-Acquah, President and Founder of the Club, lauded its members for their generosity and contributions towards the objectives of the group, and hoped the donations would go a long way to ease the plights of the beneficiaries.
He appealed to other corporate institutions and individuals to consider joining the Club or making donations to support its activities.
Dr. Kwadwo Anim, Executive Director of AGA Health Foundation, expressed profound gratitude to Fifty 50 Club for the donation, which, he described as a swift intervention to help the beneficiaries undergo treatments.
He noted that while there was advancement in technology for the treatment of heart conditions in particular, financing it had always been a challenge, and called on individuals and organisations to emulate the shining example of the Fifty 50 Club and donate towards the treatment of such diseases.
Gladys Adu, mother of Blessing Ama Woode Kwamba, on behalf of the beneficiaries, commended the Club for coming to their aid.
She appealed to well-meaning individuals and institutions to come to their aid.
