The Ghana National Gas Company has donated GH¢100,000 to Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Takoradi to support breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, addressing a critical barrier that prevents many patients from confirming suspected cases.
The donation, presented as part of the company’s annual breast cancer awareness and support initiatives, will be divided equally: GH¢50,000 will fund biopsy procedures for suspected breast cancer cases, while the remaining GH¢50,000 will provide personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and treatment support for some patients.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Judith Adjoba Blay, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Gas, emphasized that the company’s focus extends beyond awareness campaigns to ensuring patients can access confirmatory tests.
“We’ve been involved in breast cancer awareness campaigns at Ghana Gas, but especially because I am a woman and I’m the CEO of Ghana Gas, we have really intensified the awareness outreach,” Blay said. “We do awareness for our staff, awareness for the immediate communities where we are in Accra and where we are in Atuabo and in the Western Region, and then we offer screening.”
The CEO highlighted that the donation specifically targets the diagnostic stage, where many patients abandon testing due to financial constraints. She noted that a team from Ghana Gas will work with the hospital to ensure the funds are properly utilized and to measure the impact of the initiative.
“This donation is in twofold. Half of it is going to be used for diagnostics so biopsies,” Blay explained. “We are not just leaving the money to the hospital; a team from Ghana Gas is going to ensure that the diagnostics happen and monitor which patients benefit from it. We always try to measure the impact of our outreach and support.”
Head of Surgery at Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, expressed profound gratitude, noting that the support would strengthen the hospital’s capacity to diagnose and treat breast cancer.
“This donation is unique in terms of the start point of diagnosis,” Dr. Amoabeng said. “Most of the time, people even abandon the diagnosis because they don’t have the money for the biopsy, for the histology part. But your donation is going into that, and so it will make a lot of people get access to the diagnostic part for us to diagnose them, and then enroll them onto the National Health Insurance Scheme for treatment.”
The surgeon also underscored the importance of the protective equipment component, explaining the risks healthcare workers face when handling chemotherapy medications.
“Most of the time our nurses have to go through a lot mixing chemotherapy medications. These are medications that are given to breast cancer patients. They are toxic to normal people who don’t have breast cancer, but we need PPEs to protect ourselves,” he explained. “Your donation is going into all these things so that the health staff will also be protected and feel safe when they are giving medications to breast cancer patients.”
Blay emphasized that the ultimate goal of the company’s support is prevention and early detection, which significantly improves patient outcomes.
“The emphasis here is on the prevention bit of it, because if we are able to prevent or even diagnose early, then we won’t get to the worst case where we are dealing with very sick and dying people, and that’s what we want to prevent,” she said.
The CEO also announced that Ghana Gas, in partnership with the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, will soon extend similar outreach efforts to Axim in the Western Region, with board and management approval already secured for additional support.
“We are still going out, and I wish you all the best with all that you do for patients in general, especially breast cancer patients,” Blay concluded.
The donation reflects growing corporate involvement in addressing Ghana’s breast cancer burden, particularly the financial barriers that prevent timely diagnosis and treatment for many patients.
By Ebenezer Atiemo
