Inaugurating a newly constructed OTC at Loagri, a suburb of Walewale in the West Mamprusi Municipality in the North East Region, to provide specialist care for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and deformities, particularly children, she said: “We had applied for exemption from taxes for the items in the container before it arrived at the port”.

However, as of the time the centre was being inaugurated, the equipment and consumables to be used had still not been cleared and, therefore, Sister Newman appealed to the authorities, particularly the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, to intervene and facilitate the clearance processes to enable the facility to commence operations promptly.

The facility, which is the first of its kind in the northern part of the country would help bring relief to persons with disabilities in the area.

Facility

The OTC at Walewale is an extension of the Catholic OTC in Nsawam near Accra and consists of an orthopaedic clinic and a workshop complex where artificial leg brace, prosthetic limbs, clutches and shoes will be manufactured.

It is expected to cater for patients in the northern part of Ghana who, hitherto, travelled to Nsawam and other parts of the country to seek specialist care.

It was constructed by the Catholic OTC with funding support from a Swiss Family Foundation.

Financial burden

For his part, the Provincial Superior of Divine Word Missionaries, Ghana – Liberia Province, Father Cyprian Kuupol, said citing the facility in Walewale would go a long way to alleviate the financial burden and stress patients went through in accessing orthopaedic healthcare services.

While thanking all the chiefs and various stakeholders for their maximum cooperation and support that had helped realise the establishment of the centre, he revealed plans to open new branches across the country to bring orthopaedic health care to the doorsteps of the people.

Commendation

The West Mamprusi Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Issahaku Arimiyaw Somo, lauded the management of the OTC for the gesture and pledged to give them the needed support to ensure the full operationalisation of the centre.

He also pledged to forward their concerns to the appropriate authorities to ensure that all their pieces of equipment that had been locked up at the port were cleared as a matter of urgency.

The inauguration ceremony marked the 10th anniversary of the passing of Brother Tarcisius Cristophorus de Ruyter, SVD, the Founder of OTC at Nsawam.