BY CARLTON COFIE- GHANA

Ghana's second largest city of more  than  1.5 million Gpeople will in the coming months benefit from the laboratory services of a state of the art health centre  that will  treat  alaria and other  tropical diseases under  the HopeXchange  Ghana  Health Project.

Work  is  being  expedited  on  a malaria  laboratory  and  a Ward for  severe malaria   cases  to meet an early 2012 inauguration of the facility which  is expected  to see an improvement in malaria diagnosis and  treatment  in Kumasi,  known as the Garden City.

The  project,  to  be  run  by HopeXchange Medical Center  in Kumasi,  is  an  international
humanitarian  health  programme with partners in Italy, Belgium and the United States.

The Medical Center  is a newly built state  of  the  art  80-bed  medical facility in the city. It is anticipated that in its first full year of operation the Centre will perform more than 1,500 surgeries and provide more than 12,000 outpatient  services.
 
During  a  meeting  in  Rome  on February 21, 2011, President and CEO  of  HopeXchange,  Mario Cap p e l l o,   p re s e n t e d   t h e   HopeXchange  Medical  Centre Malaria  Project  to  a  group  of Italian  scientists  experienced  in Tropical  Medicine,  especially malaria,  to  establish  a  highly- qualified department dedicated to malaria  wi th  internat ional   collaboration.   It intends to carry out  basic  and  applied  research, medical  care  of  the  local population,  clinical  trials,  and epidemiological  research.

Amo n g   i t s   i n t e r n a t i o n a l   consultants  are  Prof.  Umberto D'Alessandro  from  the  Prince Leopold  Institute  of  Tropical Medicine  in  Antwerp,  Belgium, P r o f .   S p i n e l l o   An t i n o r i ,   Department  of  Infectious  and Tropical  Diseases,   University  of Mi lan  and  Prof.  Francesco Castelli, Department of  Infectious and  Tropical Diseases, University of Brescia, both  in  Italy.

On the local scene, Professor Tsiri Agbenyega,  a  Ghanaian  at  the Department  of  Physiology  and  a Principal  Medical  Officer  in  the Department of Child Health,  has joined  the HopeXchange  medical and  scientific  team. 

These experts will be co-ordinating the HopeXchange Malaria Project as  the  Center  operates  as  a charitable  institution  in  the network of  the Christian Health Association of   Ghana  (CHAG) ,   wi t h   accreditation by Ghana's Ministry of Health.

As   an  ac credi ted  CHAG institution, a significant portion of the  Center's  operational  and staffing costs will be  reimbursed by the Ministry of Health.

In close collaboration with  the  two Teaching Hospitals in Ghana (Korle Bu  and  Komfo  Anokye)  and  the Noguchi  Memorial  Institute  for Medical Research the project hopes to  create    in-country  training programs,  tailored  to  the  specific educational  needs  of  healthcare providers  in Ghana.

Training  courses will  be  designed and certified by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Courses  will  be  conducted  at  the HopeXchange Institute for Medical Education  and  Clinical  Training. This  Institute,  located  within  the HopeXchange Medical Center , will utilize  technologically  advanced educational  resources,  including state-of-the-art  educational  rooms with direct audio/video broadcast capabilities  from  the  operating theatres,   video-conferencing,   telemedicine  technology,  and  an electronic  library  with  access  to major  medical  journals  and textbooks.

HopeXchange  plans  to  undertake certain postgraduate courses which are  currently  not  available  in  the country.

Coming at a time when malaria is high  on  the  national  agenda, HopeXchange has been accorded a  warm  response  by  the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu, the king of the Ashanti kingdom, and  the  local community which  is vital for the success of any such
project.

According to HopeXchange the p e o p l e   h a v e   b e e n   “extraordinarily  supportive.”

Former Ghanaian President  John Kufuor  as  well  the  incumbent John  Atta Mills  have  extended their  full  support  to  the project.

President Mills said “Heathcare is one of our top priorities in this country  and  I  am  particularly delighted  that  this  facility  is going  to  offer,  among  other things,  specialised  facilities  for people who need medical care. And I am sure this facility is also
going  to  open many  doors  for expansion  in  our   heal th facilities.”

With  on-going  RTS,S  vaccine trials  in Agogo  and  the  newly- establ ished  HopeXchange Medical  Center  in  Kumasi  the Ashanti Region is getting better positioned in the fight to control malaria.