Government is to take up all related expenses on the surgery to separate the conjoined twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Accra, Chief of Staff, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, announced Monday.
The Siamese twins, born to Samuel Addo and 15-year old Rebecca Bansah, were joined at the head when they were delivered at the hospital recently.
Specialists at the hospital have offered to perform the procedure to separate the twins and had appealed for some GHS 3 million to begin the complicated surgery.
The surgery will cost GHS15 million cedis; GhS3 million for consumables and GHC12 million for the purchase of equipment needed for the 50-hour surgery.
Madam Osei-Opare, who made the announcement on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, when she called at the hospital to meet the parents of the twins and surgery team, said the President was particular about the situation of the children.
She said Cabinet was informed by the Health minister about the matter, and the resolve by a cross section of experts from medical facilities, both private and public nationwide, to carry out the complicated surgery locally.
The Chief of Staff said this led to the President deciding that government should bear the cost of the operation and all other expenses needed for the procedure to make sure that there was no mishap with Ghana’s attempt to undertake such a complex surgery.
Commending the courage of the team of medical experts to perform the operation locally, Madam Osei-Opare said this would advance Ghana’s record in the field of medicine.
She said government was updating the infrastructure needed to ensure the success of the surgery, upbeat that the procedure would place Ghana at the cusp of history, and make the country a go-to destination for medical operations hitherto obtained elsewhere.
“This is going to be a historic opportunity for Ghana to take the lead in many medical spheres on the continent, and contribute to the vision of Ghana being a medical hub in West Africa,” she held, adding that Government would release funding timeously and give the team all the support to ensure that they are able to save the life of the children.
Dr Samuel Kaba, a neurosurgeon and lead surgeon at the Greater Accra Regional egional Hospital, said the operation would change the landscape of country’s medical expertise, and put Ghana on a higher pedestal in the curative spheres.
He was optimistic that the equipment to be purchased for the operation would bring to an end the situation where Ghanaian sought medical help abroad.
The neurosurgeon disclosed that some 160 medical and non-medical personnel, including all specialties, had been drafted for the operation that would be carried out in five stages over a one-year period.
He said when successfully undertaken, the procedure would have been one of the most historic moments in Ghana’s medical history and would have also been the first in the sub-region.
