Accra, – Professor Janet Neequaye, the Former Head of the Child Health Department, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has made a cash donation of GHS 10,000 to the department to support needy children.
The donation was from profits made on the sale of her published book titled “Through Thick and Thin.”
The book is a short, engrossing, and candid autobiography of Prof Neequaye, her life, and career as a doctor, teacher, wife, and mother in England, Saudi Arabia, and Ghana, where she has lived on and off for over 50 years.
The 199-page book, which has a photo gallery, describes the trials and triumphs of her life stretching from 1946 to the present, starting at her birthplace in the provincial town of Benfleet, Southern Essex, England, and still ongoing in Accra, Ghana.
Prof Neequaye, a paediatrician, upon her retirement embarked on several research projects in aid of child health.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, she said: “I did a lot of research on Malaria, HIV, and Burkitt’s lymphoma, which is a childhood cancer; and did some administrative projects such as the Needy Children Fund (NCF) for the benefit of sick children.”
The NCF cater for children who are unable to pay for drugs and medical bills which are not available on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), she stated.
Prof Neequaye said she has also created “Dear Pharmacist” an initiative to help children obtain emergency life-saving drugs, as at the time, to do away with the “cash and carry.”
“I also started something called Dear Pharmacist, so that if you rush to the child health department with your very sick child and you don’t have money, the doctor can write in your folder, “Dear Pharmacist, please supply this emergency drug.”
“So, they give it immediately to save the child’s life and then later the money is paid,” she added.
Prof Neequaye said all subsequent profits made from the book sale would be donated to the NCF.
She urged the public to visit the Vidya Bookshop, Osu, Airport Shell, and Department of Child Health Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for copies of the book to assist needy children in the country.
Prof Christabel Enweronu Laryea, the Head of the Child Health Department, thanked Prof Neequaye for the donation and for bringing a lot of innovation to the department during her era.
She said a lot of the things the department was doing to bring care to children was through Prof Neequaye’s initiative and was grateful that after all the legacies she came back to show more support to children.
Source: Ghana News Agency