Wiaga: Access to quality maternal and child healthcare in the Builsa North Municipality has received a significant boost, following the commissioning of a newly constructed Child and Maternity Centre at the Saint Lucas Catholic Hospital in Wiaga. The 48-bed facility, fully funded by Sir Clement Akapame, a renowned philanthropist, and his family, was officially handed over to the hospital.
According to Ghana News Agency, the project forms part of efforts to expand healthcare infrastructure in the municipality and enhance timely care for women and children. The gesture was made in honour of the late Fr Philippe Marneffe, a French Missionary of Africa who worked in the area and was instrumental in the establishment of the St. Lucas Catholic Hospital, pioneering the provision of healthcare services in Wiaga several decades ago.
The new Child and Maternity Centre, named after Fr Philippe Marneffe, comprises delivery rooms, postnatal wards, neonatal care units, and consultation spaces, providing a safe and dignified environment for mothers and newborns. Fr Marneffe’s dedication to healthcare, community development, and his compassion for the vulnerable inspired the Akapame family to support the mission of the Catholic Church in meeting the health needs of the people, especially pregnant women and children.
Speaking at a short ceremony to unveil the facility, Sir Clement Akapame expressed his family’s joy in continuing the legacy of Fr. Marneffe, whom he described as ‘a man of deep compassion who committed his life to serving the people of this area.’ ‘I recall how supportive he was many years ago when my father was sick and there was no health facility in the area. People, especially pregnant women, were dying because they had to travel long distances to access healthcare,’ he said.
He also acknowledged the Catholic Church’s contributions to development, particularly in education and healthcare, noting that the facility reflects the role of the lay faithful in supporting the Church’s mission. Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, who commissioned the facility, commended the Akapame family for their generosity, and noted their contributions to various projects across the Diocese. ‘You are not a priest or a missionary, but you have evangelized the word of God to the people through this health facility and the many other things you have been doing,’ he remarked.
Very Reverend Father George Asigri, Parish Priest of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Wiaga, also thanked the Akapame family for helping to expand healthcare services in the area and noted that the hospital serves not only the local population but also patients from neighbouring countries, particularly Burkina Faso. He appealed for support to help equip and operationalize the new facility.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr. Kennedy Ngaaso, Medical Director of the hospital, welcomed the new facility, saying it would help reduce congestion and significantly improve the quality of care. Until now, maternity services at the hospital were overstretched, with only an 11-bed maternity ward, a six-bed paediatric ward, and no dedicated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). ‘Due to limited capacity, we are often compelled to admit children into adult wards, which is against standard practice,’ Dr. Ngaaso said.
He pledged to uphold a culture of proper maintenance and continuous service improvement and appealed to the government to complete the maternity and child ward it began constructing about five years ago to augment the hospital’s infrastructure. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, Wiaga, which has 10 electoral areas, recorded a population of 329,300. The commissioning of the new facility is expected to significantly enhance healthcare provision for the growing population.
Community members, traditional leaders, and local authorities who attended the commissioning praised the initiative and called on other philanthropists and stakeholders to support the 75-year-old hospital in its mission to deliver quality healthcare services.