Bringing health and hope to rural Ghana

Imagine if you were sick and had no car. That there were no pharmacies in your town. And the closest clinic was 20 miles away. What would you do?

For those living in the Mpranease community in Kumasi, Ghana, that is their reality. The Mpranease Health Center, which is located 20 miles from most of the communities that they serve, tells stories of many patients who, due to lack of transportation and the ability to pay for services, put off coming to the clinic until their health conditions have become severe.

By the time patients get to the clinic for care, those with high blood pressure are at extreme risk for having a stroke, pregnant women who have had no prenatal care end up delivering a stillborn baby, or die in childbirth themselves, and children who started out with a simple cold show up with a fullblown case of pneumonia.

Last summer, the Mpranease Health Center received a delivery of hope. A friend and partner of MAP, Irene Darko, came to serve at the clinic for a month, and brought with her a large donation of MAP medicine and health supplies — prenatal vitamins, fever reducers, vitamins, and other over-thecounter medicines, as well as bandages, sutures, stethoscopes, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

This donation better equipped the medical staff of this clinic to offer more effective healthcare to their patients, and enabled them to offer these medications to patients free of charge, thereby alleviating further financial burden for those who sought care. Irene’s team is invested in the Mpranease community, and is working to improve the quality of life for its people long-term.