Access Bank, in collaboration with IT Consortium, have made a donation of GHS100,000 to the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC) in support of the $5 million clinical trials centre project.
Ahead of this donation, IT Consortium launched a public fundraiser on their Chango App, plus short code *887*222#, and that has already generated over GHS134,000 so far.
Meanwhile, since the launch of the $5 million fundraiser for the project, UGMC itself has been able to reach 40% of the target amount due, thanks to a public awareness concert organized by IT Consortium and the benevolence of some organizations and individuals.
But the Director of Medical and Scientific Research at UGMC, Professor George Boateng Kyei they are confident the amount will soon be realized provided the whole of corporate Ghana sees the importance of the clinical trials centre to Ghana and the West African sub-Region as a whole.
He explained that till date, Ghanaians and Africans continue to travel abroad for medical examinations as well as experimental and established treatments, but the is challenge, particularly for Africans because “Africa has the most genetic diversity in the world – in other worlds the genetic diversity in Africa alone is more than the whole of the rest of the world combined.”
Prof. Kyei explained that whereas a Ghanaian may have a totally different genetic composition from a Nigerian, for instance, someone in Asia may have a similar genetic composition with someone else in Europe.
Due to this dynamic, the kind of treatment that my work for somebody in Europe or Asia, may not necessarily work for someone from Africa, so depending on treatments abroad is not the best.
“So we need to do our own trials with our own people so that we know what works here for us and what does not work. So that we do not just blindly import stuff that do not work,” he said.
Prof. Kyei noted for instance that one in every three Ghanaian have blood pressure problems but most of them are not aware, and a lot of them are using imported drugs that do not work for them but they are not even aware.
He said UGMC is therefore on a mission to build the most advanced clinical trials unit and laboratory in the West African sub-region to undertake the best form of clinic trials that will ensure that African get the best medical treatment.
Prof. Kyei is confident that once the centre is up and operational, it will stop the common practice where Ghanaians and most people from West Africa go to South Africa, India and elsewhere for major laboratory tests.
Josephine Eva Arthur is the the Zonal Head for Retail Banking at Access Bank, and told Techfocus24 that the bank is committed to living out its “More than Banking” mantra by making significant and relevant contributions to the communities in which they work in the areas of health, education and more.
She gave an assurance that once Access Bank continues to make profit in Ghana it will continue to support good projects like the clinic trials unit at UGMC. Moreover the bank is passionately committed to a number of CSR projects such as Fix For Fistula Campaign, Support for Mental Hospitals, Support for Female Prisons, as well as Sandals and More, where they use used tyres to make sandals for schools kids in needy communities.
Chief Business Development Officer for IT Consortium, Dr. Jojo Esua-Mensah said they are glad that Access Bank responded to their call for corporate clients to support the campaign to raise funds for the establishment of the clinic trials unit at UGMC.
He noted that since ITC launched the campaign on its Chango platform and also did a musical concert to raise awareness a lot of individuals and organizations have been donating both the Chango platform and directly to UGMC.
Dr. Esua-Mensah noted that the project is geared towards ensuring better healthcare and treatment for Africans and it is therefore critical that everyone supports it to ensure it becomes a reality.
Meanwhile the public fundraiser on Chango, and the short code *887*222# are still active for anyone who wants to donate.
