Czech President Petr Pavel yesterday opened a new hospital on the outskirts of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, built by Czech company Vamed Health Projects.
“I’m really proud of it, I’m proud because I can’t imagine anything so universally good as opening a hospital, opening a facility that will serve those in need,” said Pavel. The hospital has 40 beds and will serve up to 100,000 people from the wider area around the town of Kpone, close to the capital.
The President was repeatedly applauded by several hundred onlookers, and was finally presented with traditional Ghanaian kente clothing, which he tried on immediately.
“I was a bit surprised at how they approached it, because we saw it as such an official event,” Pavel said. “In fact, they conceived it as a small folk festival, and for us it was an extremely pleasant change because we could at least get a small window into local customs and culture.”
The atmosphere before the ribbon cutting ceremony was added to by live music from local drummers, the presence of traditional community leaders, and their good luck ceremonies.
“It will make a huge difference to us, so many times people have lost their lives because we had to transport them to a more distant medical facility,” a local resident named William told CTK. “It will save travel time and have a big impact on the lives of the local people,” said an elderly man in formal wear.
The hospital, which was decorated yesterday with the Ghanaian and Czech flags, is part of the construction of 12 health facilities in different parts of Ghana.
The Czech company built the hospitals in 30 months, at a total cost of 71.5 million euros. Initially, three doctors and a number of nurses are to serve in the new hospital. Changes for the local population will include a paediatric centre and a section for mothers with newborns, where it will be possible to perform ultrasound examinations and, if necessary, caesarean sections.
Pavel’s trip to Africa included visits to Mauritania and Ghana. His delegation will fly back to the Czech Republic today.
