Foreign Minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Saturday August 19, 2006, launched in Chicago a medical relief services organisation named after an eminent Ghanaian doctor, George Fredua Ofori-Atta.
The George Fredua Ofori-Atta Kidney Dialysis Foundation is dedicated to combating kidney disease in poor communities around the world, particularly Africa.
Nana Akufo-Addo described the late medical officer as a man who lived to keep others alive and it was so befitting that even after his death his family is continuing the tradition with the inauguration of a foundation, set up to keep alive, others who are suffering from kidney problems, a condition that afflicted Dr Ofori-Atta for a long time.
Speaking to the media during the inauguration, Dr Biritwum of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra stated that there is a huge demand for assistance to support the renal unit service in Ghana “In many instances, patients who are in dire need of medical assistance do not have financial accessibility to the few machines available and are usualy left to die. Many of these are young people within the ages of 20-45 years who really ought to be saved to support the development of the country. Analysis by a young physician at the Medical Block of the hospital showed that kidney failure forms about 35 percent of all medical admissions. There are about 5000-8000 patients in the whole country. However, for the three centres in the country, only 35 patients are receiving haemodialysis a year. The rest of the potential clients are being managed conservatively and most of them end up dying,” he revealed, adding, “The total number of haemodialysis machines in the country is 17 with 6 technicians and 6 trained nurses.” He expressed the hope that it would be possible to have a centre where patients can easily have access to renal replacement therapy at affordable costs.
Dr Biritwum lamented that there are only 4 nephrologists in the country with one on retirement, the second about to retire and also having additional duties as head of Department. He however added that Dr Osafo, a female practitioner, who has recently returned from UK, after nearly three years of training in kidney disease has expressed the desire to advance nephrology in Ghana.
Dr Biritwum further revealed that his department has been considering the prospect of starting kidney transplantation in Ghana, but lack of funding was stifling that vision declaring, “We are so much in financial crisis that we are unable to do much.”
According to him such a unit will need some means of transportation to convey patients in and out of the hospital; a procedure room well equipped with ultrasound scan, monitors, arterial blood gas machines, a laboratory facility to do blood chemistry, urine proteins, creatine ratio, immunology as well as adjustable beds to be used for kidney biopsies and central lines. Other equipment include dialysers, biopsy needles, tesio lines, haemodialysis catheters and drugs such as antihypertensives and erythropoietin.
Financial support would also be needed to train technicians, nurses and young doctors and also support for research into kidney diseases so that prevention mechanisms can be put in place.
The goal, according the conveners, is to build bigger kidney units to offer total renal replacement theraphy which includes haemodialysis and transplantation in all the major cities in Ghana.
The methods of the Foundation are directed towards educating the public about the prevalence of diabetes, hypertension and end stage renal disease among people of African descent globally. Through education, advocacy and program development, the Foundation will mobilise communities to establish effective prevention and intervention measures to improve the lives of families affected by chronic kidney disease.
Dr Ofori-Atta served the community in the Greater Chicago area by practicing general and pediatric surgery at several hospitals. He was trained at the University of Ghana Medical School and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana, West Africa; St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts; Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois; and Harvard University Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He was a Fellow of the American Medical Association and the Ghana Medical Association. He practiced medicine for over thirty years in Ghana and the United States.
Dr Ofori-Atta battled renal failure for a number of years. He did it courageously and sensibly with the loving support of his wife, Mrs Felicia Ofori-Atta and family. During this period, he continued to fortify his religious beliefs.
Dr Ofori-Atta had access to sound medical care, nutritional advice and dialysis treatments which improved his outlook and prolonged his life. His illness, eventual death and the death of friends and family members educated the Ofori-Atta family about the prevalence of kidney diseases among people of African descent. Inspired by Dr George Ofori-Atta’s commitment to the health needs of family, health education and the profession, the eminent doctors set up the Foundation to carry on the tradition of community service. "Accountability, Transparency, Sustainability and Inclusion" are the Dr George Fredua Ofori-Atta Kidney Dialysis Foundation’s guiding principles. The Foundation believes that the power to change and transform lives is a God-given gift that in all people.
The Fondation's goals are the building of bigger kidney units to offer total renal replacement therapy which includes haemodialysis and transplantation; training to train technicians, nurses and young doctors to be able to manage kidney cases; and to gain support for kidney disease research in Africa.
In attendance was a cross section of Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian eminent doctors with international pedigree. A dinner and Adowa dance mini-festival were highlights of the programme.
