Back in Accra, I set up my final meetings with the MOH, this time to present an invoice and memorandum for the two new shipments that I had planned before and during the trip. The MOH signed the documents and gave us the go-ahead for a 40 foot container (approx 16,000 lbs of supplies) to the Jirapa District Hospital located in the Upper West Region, as well as two 40 foot containers (approx 32,000 lbs of supplies) to the Upper East Region. As soon as the MOH transfers the agreed upon funds, we will start the process of selecting a load date and booking transport!
Accompanied by Habib, one of our Board members, I had one last meeting with a great organization called MSSI (Medical and Surgical Simulation Institute) that is based at Korle Bu, Accra’s main teaching hospital. In addition to providing advanced hand-on training to surgeons at the facility, the center also coordinates trainings for physicians and health staff at sites throughout Ghana.
MSSI at Korle Bu
http://www.facs.org/fellows_info/bulletin/2010/jacobs0610.pdf
Especially as we begin plans to obtain/ship x-ray machines, I am beyond excited about this potential partnership! This meeting reminded me that despite having larger facilities and more highly trained specialists, Ghana’s huge urban hospitals also face critical shortages in supplies and equipment. Korle Bu—serving as one of Ghana’s two teaching hospitals and providing care for Accra’s 2 million inhabitants—has 24 operating rooms but just 3 working anesthesia machines.
Emma