07 September 2023: The first 1Bed4All container of HITA e.V. with 60 hospital beds is distributed to health facilities
60 hospital beds have reached their destinations in the Bono region of western Ghana after several months of travel. In a ceremony, Prof. Daniel Obeng-Ofori, president of the Catholic University of Ghana in Sunyani-Fiapre (CUG), handed over the beds to surrounding hospitals and health stations. The facilities were selected by HITA e.V. together with Prof. Prudence Mwini-Nyaledzigbo, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at CUG. In addition to need, relevant factors include the structure, potential, and understanding of responsibility for maintenance of health care facilities.
HITA e.V. sent three containers with a total of 180 hospital beds on their journey at the end of last year. The distribution of beds was originally scheduled for this spring. A HITA e.V. delegation was on site in Sunyani for instruction in use, care and sustainable maintenance. Training and workshops with representatives of the selected healthcare facilities were conducted using sample beds and presentations. You can read this in previous articles on the Ghana 2023 trip.
CUG President Prof. Daniel Obeng-Ofori receives representatives of health care institutions for the handover of beds in the HITA project 1Bed4All
The beds, which have now arrived in the Bono region of Ghana, on the last kilometers from the port in Tema to the CUG campus in Sunyani-Fiapre by truck, were unloaded by local helpers, assembled and also cleaned after the long time in the container. They were then handed over to Regional Hospital Sunyani, Minicipal Hospital Sunyani, SDA Hospital Sunyani and Fiapre Health Center. You can see videos of the handover in our YouTube channel HITA eV - YouTube.
We will also report shortly on the arduous journey of the beds, the seemingly endless time of waiting and waiting, and the further cooperation with the CUG and the selected health care facilities.
Dean Prof. Prudence Mwini-Nyaledzigbo, together with HITA e.V., has selected the hospitals and health stations that will receive hospital beds
The distribution of beds continues. In the coming days we expect the arrival of the remaining containers in Sunyani and the surrounding area. For HITA e.V. and our local partners the real work is just beginning. Through various measures “Halfway Gala” in the Design Thinking Project 2023 with the University of Applied Sciences Mannheim | HITA e.V. (hita-ev.org) we want to ensure that the donations are properly integrated into the selected facilities and, above all, that they are regularly maintained. This way we can ensure that the refurbished high-quality beds will be in use for many years to come.
A very big thank you to all supporters of the project! Very special thanks go to the logistics companies involved: for the international transport, HARTMANN INTERNATIONAL GmbH & Co. KG and in particular Andre Schulze and Julian Hainer for their patience, understanding and above all expertise, and for the domestic transport Mensah Rex, who as a connoisseur of Ghanaian culture, found ways out of almost impossible situations.
Before the hospital beds are distributed, they are unloaded, set up, cleaned and checked by local helpers