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recently had the opportunity to visit the two new neonatal clinics in Kumasi, Ghana, built as part of the Millennium Cities Initiative’s efforts to create models capable of reducing maternal and infant mortality in the Millennium Cities. MCI partnered with Israeli neonatologists from Ben Gurion University who, with support from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, designed and built these “mother-and-baby” units as triage units that can save infants’ lives and decompress the dangerously overcrowded Intensive Care Unit at Kumasi’s federal teaching hospital. Abenaa Akuamoa-Boateng, MCI Project Manager for Ghana, has spearheaded this effort for MCI, arranging training workshops both in Kumasi and in Israel for pediatricians, pediatric nurses and other medical staff; identifying responsible contractors and supervising construction together with Israeli engineers; and securing commitments from the City of Kumasi to support every stage of this effort with necessary infrastructure upgrades.
One of two new neonatal clinics in Kumasi, Ghana.
One of two new neonatal clinics in Kumasi, Ghana.
During my rounds of the facilities, I discovered that one of the units is flourishing, with enlightened professional leadership, SRO occupancy rates, use of state-of-the-art resuscitation and warming equipment. As an integral component of this low-tech approach, both units also offer training in Kangaroo Mother Care, a simple, focused approach to nursing, warming and stimulating neonates, proven effective in saving the lives of premature babies. Already, the ICU at the teaching hospital is 47% less crowded, as doctors there have begun to refer stable patients out to this neonatal unit when they require less intensive care – exactly what we had hoped would happen. Nevertheless, this unit – known as the Suntreso Mother and Baby Unit, as it is attached to the Suntreso sub-metro, or neighborhood hospital – remains severely constrained in what it can accomplish. Despite the new facilities,
