The Development Office of the Ministry of Education has presented quantities of medical supplies valued at GH¢ 200, 000 to five Senior High Schools in the country.
The items, made up of both medical equipment and consumables, were procured with the support of STL Amandi Ghana Limited.
The medical equipment include electronic sphygmomanometre (blood pressure monitors), infra-red thermometres, kidney dishes, nebulizer, medication cabinets and vomit bowls.
The consumables on the other hand are gauze roll, elastic/crepe bandage, cotton wool roll, disposable gloves and rapid diagnostic test kits among others.
The beneficiary schools are Accra Academy, Pentecost Senior High School, Tamale Senior High School, Bosomtwe Girls STEM School and Osei Tutu Senior High School.
Presenting the items to the management of the respective schools, the Head of the Development Office, Ministry of Education, Ms Susan Kuffour, said it was important to have enough medication for school clinics to support the health needs of the students while in the care of the school.
She explained that the idea of procuring the equipment came about as a result of one of the site visits to schools where it was reported that a school child was sick and was asked to go to the school clinic, however, the school girl retorted that there was no medicine there.
Ms Kuffour said she was hit by the response and decided that something should be done about the situation, stressing that “As a result, I had to conduct my own survey to ascertain if the situation was widespread or not.”
She said following the survey, it emerged that it was widespread and needed attention, as a result the Minister of Education was informed, and he gave the green light for some support to be sought and that culminated in the support of the STL.
On his part the Head of Business Development STL, Mr Tomer Novotny, said the support formed part of their corporate social responsibility, adding that STL Amandi viewed education as very important to their operations, since it was the bedrock of the development of any society.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
