President of the Asaase Foundation, Kojo Mensah, says the organisation’s investment in kidney care is driven by deeply personal experiences and a recognition of the widespread burden of renal disease in Ghana.
He made the remarks at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital on Friday during the presentation of two dialysis machines to the facility as part of the Foundation’s ongoing nationwide interventions.
Mensah explained that the Foundation’s work in renal health began three years ago after a staff member suffered kidney failure, later receiving a transplant that saved his life. That experience, he said, opened the organisation’s eyes to the urgent need for improved access to dialysis and renal care across the country.
“We started in kidney care simply because one of our staff was suffering with kidney challenges, was able to get a transplant, and moved on with his life,” he noted, adding that several people connected to the programme. “Kidney concerns are widespread, varied, and they cross boundaries.”
Mensah emphasised that the Foundation’s approach has always been guided by identifying places with urgent gaps in dialysis access. Over the past three years, the organisation has donated machines to facilities in Wa, Sunyani, Tarkwa, Enchi, Hohoe, Sogakope, and select centres in Accra.
“Our job is simply to do what we can, when we can. The initial concentration was to focus on places where it was totally unavailable,” he said.
“We’ve also been to places where we knew there was a new facility… The point I’m trying to make is that we’ve been to places where we thought an identified need came.”
He explained that the donation to Cape Coast Teaching Hospital followed a conversation with a colleague in the UK who highlighted the hospital’s needs. “We said yes, we have three machines… So the two that are available—why not?”
While the Foundation typically focuses on facilities with no dialysis access at all, Mensah said the team considered the situation at Cape Coast significant enough to warrant support. “It is need. So that’s why we’re here. And we’re privileged to be here.”
Reflecting on his personal ties to Cape Coast, Mensah said the donation was also meaningful on a familial level. His mother worked at the hospital before leaving for further studies in England, and he spent considerable time in the facility in his youth.
“This is Cape Coast. This is where I was formed. So for that reason, I’m privileged and proud to be a part of this,” he said.
He also acknowledged the Asaase Foundation team, praising administrator Gifty Boafo for coordinating the intervention. “The president is just a title… It’s a team,” he said.
The donation forms part of the Foundation’s broader commitment to expanding dialysis access and supporting renal care facilities nationwide—an effort informed by real patient stories and community needs.
The Cape Coast Teaching Hospital is expected to open a nephrology centre next year, and management says the new machines will significantly reduce strain on its ageing dialysis infrastructure.
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