Ghana News

Report by Dr. Edward Gold, President of fhn UK, July 2004

Huttel Health Center update

Things are going great and the communities are working extremely well together. The Health Committee, consisting of a man and woman from each of the 6 communities, has been meeting bimonthly. They have planted a farm (roughly 3 hectares) of cassava and yam to harvest for the Health Center’s revenue. We must recognize that the committee is comprised of village farmers who sacrifice their valuable time to improve their region, while receiving no compensation (or ‘refreshment’ as it is called in Ghana).

The Health Center itself is in good condition, though it will need annual maintenance, but is holding its own against the elements, the snakes and the small children playing around it. The borehole to provide the communities and the health center with water was dug about 3 months ago, and the pump will be installed shortly. Surprisingly, electricity poles were recently installed in the village, thanks to the election year there. We will have power in the next 2 months, which will make our work at the health center much easier, but as for the long-term impacts on the communities, we will have to wait and see.

The ambulance is sadly on its last legs - it was old when purchased and has performed many runs to the hospital and back, mostly with severe pregnancy complications. Without it, we are completely isolated – and we must raise money now to address this issue immediately.

fhn staff are working very well and are hugely committed. Lydia (the coordinator) and Kwame (the assistant) should be praised for their hard work, management and their unwavering belief that the only way to improve life is on a community level, by training local people themselves.

We will reach our aims of sustainable community development by working in key areas, such as health treatment/prevention/education, scholastic education, sanitation, and clean water provision. We are implementing this by using fhn staff to co-ordinate and educate the communities in which we work, depending on the communities’ needs. Key to reaching these goals are the Health Promoters, which has been so successful in Ecuador. In the next two months, we will be working hard to strengthen the health promoter model in Ghana, training them to address community health issues, especially malaria (as 75% of all consultations at HHDC are malaria related).

Agogo Hospital Report:

Since fhn’s aims in Ghana are two-fold, my trip was similarly divided into two purposes - to manage the Huttel Health and Development Center and to support the unique hospital of Agogo. The Agogo Hospital is scrupulously clean, has highly qualified and committed doctors and two great surgeons. One of the surgeons is the most gregarious and talented Ghanaians I have met.

Agogo deals with a severe condition called Buruli ulcer. An ulcerating lesion, as its name implies, starts off as a nodule and spreads to involve whole limbs or the trunk of the body. Tragically, of course, as a tiny nodule, it can be removed by local anesthesia. From donations by Martin Eckhardt (President, fhn Germany) years ago, the surgeons have been using a skin grafting machine to combat post-surgical infections – previously, old razorblades were routinely being used to remove skin for grafting! The two men at Agogo perform heroic medicine. Even after ‘curative’ surgery of Buruli, unless the limb is utilized and moved quite aggressively post-op, the skin heals, and while healing, it contracts, leaving the majority of the people affected (especially children) with contractures. These contractures leave the limb useless, or worse, lead to an obvious physical deformity, which carries an almost superstitious stigma in physical village life.

We are now sending fhn’s first physiotherapist to begin the training program for 3 pre-selected, senior nurses of Agogo Hospital. Our aims are:

• · to alleviate Agogo patients, especially children, from avoidable problems
• · to aid the rest of the wards with their physiotherapy needs (resources permitting)
• · most importantly, to train the local health professionals in physiotherapy

In doing so, we must remember our belief in the empowering of local people, to imbue them with strong skills on which to build their expertise.

A Call to Action – Medical Volunteers

As well as recruiting for physiotherapists, fhn is currently looking for doctors and dentists for Ghana. They will receive free meals and lodging, plus a salary if working for 1 year or more, or expenses plus a stipend for a commitment of less than 6 months. Agogo Hospital is lacking doctors at the registrar level and above in all specialties, as well as dentists. Please let us know if you are interested, and spread the word.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support in fhn’s 3 years of operation. We are making amazing strides in both countries and I have been fortunate to work with the most wonderful, selfless people both in Ghana & Ecuador, and internationally with our fhn partners in the USA and in Germany.