As part of its commitment to deliver premium orthopedic healthcare in Ghana and beyond, the Foundation of Complex Orthopaedic Spine (FOCOS) has commissioned a large off-grid solar powered project.
The 700kwh Hybrid Solar System with 1LMWH Battery Storage has been touted by experts as the largest in Africa for a hospital. The project, which is the first of its kind in the nation, estimated at over $1.5 million, was made possible through the benevolence of United States-based couple (Mr. and Mrs. Heyland) and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). Sun Power Innovations, the engineers behind the project, also gave a substantial discount on the project.
Representing the Deputy Minister for Energy, Mr. Wisdom Togobo, Director for Renewable Energy, lauded the efforts of all the donors/sponsors for this gesture. “It is the desire of the government to install solar energy to the remote areas. FOCOS Hospital, by far, consumes a lot more energy, hence this philanthropic gesture is a good one.” He encouraged the private sector to come in to augment the effort of the Ministry of Energy to provide rooftop solar power to needy areas and institutions. He reiterated the importance of solar, not forgetting the huge amount that normal electricity brings to bear FOCOS, which costs a little over GHS100,000 on power every month.
Expressing his excitement on the fruition of this project, Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, the President and Founder of FOCOS Hospital, appealed to the public to support FOCOS Hospital as it is a non-profit hospital taking care of patients who cannot afford spine, joint and bone-related surgery. He narrated how the funding of this project came into realization. He emphasized the fact that a grateful patient in the US (Heylands) decided to give towards patient sponsorships and other hospital projects including this solar project.
“For us, this means more money for the patients as the power bills will be reduced by at least 60%,” he expressed his immense gratitude to the donors of this project. He also used the occasion to appeal to all and sundry to support an endowment fund campaign aimed at raising $50million to support needy patients and to build capacity for research, education and outreach programs. Such a fund will be made possible if at least 500,000 Ghanaians will each contribute GHS100 to this fund for a 5-year period.
Speaking on the plethora of benefits this installation will give FOCOS, Mr. Eric Adjah, Technical Lead for SunPower Innovation, said, “this is one of the first in the hospital sector which will help FOCOS Hospital cut down on its huge power bills and enjoy stable a 24-hour supply power, to the hospital, with the generator only serving as backup”.
Among the FOCOS Management members present at the ceremony were: Ambassador Fritz Poku, Board Chairman of FOCOS Hospital, Prof. Joseph Ogyaadu, Medical Director, Dr. Ofori-Amankwah, Director for Medical Services and Dr. Irene Wulff, Associate Medical Director. The newly crowned Miss Ghana, Rebecca Kwabi, and her runner up were also in attendance.