Okyehene cuts sod for construction of first-ever cancer treatment centre in Easten Region

The Overlord of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional State, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, has laid the groundwork for Africa’s first cancer treatment center dedicated only to the diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer.

The Wish4Life Foundation is spearheading the $250 million state-of-the-art facility, which is set to open in 2026.

By addressing the needs of children with cancer, the project will help to close the present healthcare imbalance in survival.

To reduce the risk of infection, the center will provide resources to enhance infection control policies and processes in accordance with international regulatory norms.

Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, speaking following the sod-cutting ceremony at Ofori Panin Fie in Kyebi, said the facility will go a long way toward meeting the healthcare requirements of rural people.

“HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis have been contained in other countries, but are still here in Africa. People are dying of malaria today, and if you look at what humanity has been able to do. No child should have to die of malaria anywhere.”

“This facility is nothing that we have ever seen before, but we have to understand that buildings, state-of-the-art equipment, computers, and large equipment do not fix human lives, people do. We still need people who are committed to the well-being of humanity. If we don’t have the doctors who are committed to the work regardless. It’s sad children born die because they don’t have access to equipment,” Okyenhene Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin said.

On his part, Dr. Tanya Trippett, the founder of the Wish4Life Foundation, emphasized that the center would serve as a model facility for the treatment of cancer in Africa and that a child’s birthplace should not be a factor in denying them access to appropriate medical care.