Edmund Kudjoh Attah
A chief at Vakpo in the North Dayi District of the Volta Region has commended President Akufo-Addo for his decision to take up the full cost of surgery on the Siamese twins at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital otherwise known as Ridge Hospital.
Togbe Siffah V, Chief of Vakpo Tsorta who oversees Adiembra, the community where the parents of the conjoined twins hail from described the gesture as God sent.
He said when the news broke, I was happy to hear that the District Chief Executive (DCE), Edmund Kudjoh Attah was also mobilizing some resources to help the couple, Samuel Addo and Justine Bansah who are kinsmen of Adiembra in Vakpo.
The Chief noted that the gesture by the President was a demonstration of pure love and proof that indeed “He is s father for all Ghanaians irrespective of tribe, background or political affiliation.”
When contacted, the DCE, Kudjoh Attah corroborated the claim of the Chief and said he had already started mobilizing some funds and resources to also support.
He brought the situation to the attention of the Chief because he had been moved by the plight of the twins. Mr. Kudjoh said “being a twin myself, I just put myself in their shoes. I know the difficulty associated with raising twins; not to talk of conjoined twins. That is why I am poised to also support.”
He also praised the President for the gesture and said “history will be kind to him, not only for his developmental achievements, but also for his love and care for the Ghanaian child.” According to him, the president has proved that the Ghanaians child is important to him and that apart from the Ghc15million donated for the success of this surgery, the Free SHS policy is testament to this fact.
Mr. Kudjah Attah said despite the support of the President, he in his capacity as a twin together with a few others will commit to support the twins with provisions for six months after the surgery, so their recovery will also be successful.
Background
About a month ago, a couple, Samuel Addo and Justine Bansah gave birth to Siamese twins who were conjoined at the head. Specialists at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge in Accra offered to do the surgery to separate the twins.
According to them, although Ghana had successfully conducted surgeries to separate Siamese twins in the past, this would be the first time the country will be separating Siamese twins who are conjoined at the head.
A Consultant Neurosurgeon at the hospital, Dr. Emmanuel Voado had said to the media that having conjoined twins occurred once in every 2.5 million births. 60 percent of such twins die in the womb, while 30 percent get delivered but die at birth.
He was optimistic that the procedure for the set of twins will be successful considering the fact that it would be done at an early stage when the patients were still young. This he said will put Ghana on the map, just like has been the case in places like South Africa and India.
President’s Intervention
The Chief of Staff, Madam Frema Osei-Opare, on Monday announced the President’s decision to allocate GH¢15million to pay for the entire procedure.
GH¢12million is for the procurement of a specialised equipment needed for the surgery while GH¢3million is for consumables, medication, and tests required during the 12-18 months process to separate the Siamese twins.
From Fred Duodu, Ho ([email protected])