Bishop T' Ga club donates to sickle cell clinic

Pg 11. Monday, Feb. 25/08

Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho

THE Sickle Cell Clinic of the Centre for Clinical Genetics at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra has received a computer and accessories worth GH¢891 (£450) to facilitate the storing of records.
Presently, the centre has recorded 23,203 patients since it was established about 30 years ago but most of the records which are not properly stored are worn out.
The equipment — which included a scanner, a copier, a printer and monitor — was a response to the centre’s call for assistance to enable it to keep proper records, which a London-based social club, The Bishop T’ Ga Club, responded to.
Led by its Public Relations Officer (PRO), Nii Yarteh, the club presented the computer and accessories to the acting Head of the centre, Professor George Ankrah-Badu, in Accra yesterday.
According to Prof. Ankrah-Badu, presently a total of two per cent of the country’s population were born with sickle cell, which, according to him, was an inherited disorder which needed to be managed properly to improve the health needs of affected people including children.
He said the incidence of children being born with the disease had not improved as efforts to help tackle the disease in the country had not been well managed due to the lack of funds.
He said the disease was not attracting funds to mitigate the plight of people suffering from it because it was not infectious neither was it contagious and therefore Ghanaians and the international community had become complacent about it.
Prof. Ankrah-Badu said the neglect of the disease would lead to more children dying, since, according to him, the number of children with sickle cell were more likely to die from malaria and other complications than children without sickle cell.
Nii Yarteh, who was accompanied by some members of the club, said the club was inspired to help the centre back home to properly cater for its patients after members had attended a lecture in London on sickle cell.
He said the club presently had a membership of 30 and also requested the centre to furnish the club with a list of its pressing needs so that the club could assist in acquiring them to enable the centre to function properly.