New Maternity Clinic in Ghana

Help to improve Maternal and Child Healthcare in Northern Ghana

Urgency
Despite recent improvements, maternal and infant mortality rates in Ghana remain high. In 2018, approximately 1 in 325 pregnant women died as a result of pregnancy in Ghana, compared to 1 in more than 14.000 in the Netherlands. Additionally, approximately 1 in 36 live-born babies died in the first month after birth in Ghana, compared to 1 in 500 in the Netherlands. These high mortality rates are partly due to delayed or inadequate healthcare access and substandard care quality in many healthcare institutions.

‘Every mother and newborn deserves to be supported by a safe pair of hands, to receive quality care, and to be treated with respect and dignity.’ – World Health Organization

Context
Gushegu Municipal, in Northern Ghana, has about 150.000 inhabitants, 40.000 of whom live in Gushegu Town. There are about 6.000-8.000 deliveries per year in the Municipal, of which the existing hospital does between 1.750 and 2.000 per year. Some 1.000-2.000 more deliveries are done in other smaller health centres. The rest give birth at home with or without a traditional midwife. Every year, between 28.000 and 56.000 check-ups need to be done during pregnancy. So the current care capacity is falling short, especially if a larger percentage wants to give birth in hospital and population growth (especially in Gushegu Town) continues.

About Queen of Sheba Health Services
Queen of Sheba Health Services is a Christian community-based organization founded in 2020 by Gerben and Dorien Boon and located in Gushegu. Their goal is to improve the health of mothers and children through the realization of a high-quality maternity clinic.

Gerben and Dorien are Operation Mobilisation Ghana missionaries, with backgrounds in medical and nursing fields. They have been in Ghana since January 2016, with their family of three children, supported by a Dutch NGO. They conducted research on pregnancy and childbirth in Gushegu in 2018 and 2019.

Vision
Our vision is that the love of Jesus becomes visible as families in Ghana thrive through safe pregnancies and births in dignity for all mothers and babies. We believe that by providing high-quality and affordable healthcare, we can contribute to healthier families, a stronger society, and a better future for the new generation in Ghana.

‘For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ – Psalm 139 : 13-14 

Project
In pursuit of our vision, we are developing a modern maternity clinic in Gushegu. This clinic will offer essential care during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. It will also serve as a base for outreach programs to remote villages, providing training to healthcare professionals, health education to the community, and research strategies to promote maternal and child health. The clinic will feature consultation rooms, a pharmacy, a laboratory, ultrasound facilities, delivery rooms, and ward rooms.

Alongside construction of health facilities, our solutions include training of new health professionals, improving logistics and financing of healthcare, better infrastructure and ambulance services, training of existing health professionals, health education of communities, and medical outreach programs to remote areas.

Planning
In the end of 2023 and beginning 2024, Queen of Sheba Health Services has secured 12 acres of land in the Yepalsi Community on the outskirts of Gushegu. The land is alongside a tarred, accessible road. Additionally, the organization has obtained a building permit, constructed a store room, developed an entrance road, and installed fencing, gates, electricity, and water.

In 2024 the focus is completely on the realisation of the clinic, the procurement of medical equipment (partly already realised), medical consumables, and the recruitment of staff. Since we have been succesful in raising the first funds, the constructionwork has started early 2024. In the first week of March the team has already realized the foundation and the groundfloor! It’s our aim to finish the construction of the clinic in Q4 and to start running the clinic in Q1, 2025!

Financial sustainable in 3 years!
Queen of Sheba Health Services is a non-profit organization that relies only at this stage of the project on donations for building the clinic and covering the start-up costs in the first year of operation. Through paid services, the clinic aims to be financially sustained by locally generated funds.

From the opening day in early 2025, the clinic will be fully and 24/7 operational, providing obstetric care during pregnancy, birth, and maternity. In addition, the clinic will offer general outpatient care for thousands of people in the entire community to provide additional assistance and generate additional income. Once the clinic has been operational for at least six months, accreditation can and will be sought from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).

Once accredited, Queen of Sheba will receive reimbursement for a substantial portion of the costs incurred for care provided. Coupled with a growing number of client contacts, and together with client-related contributions and other revenue-generating activities, this reimbursement will ensure a break-even budget from 2028 onwards. This means, the project is completey financial sustainable in just 3-years time!  

Project Costs – How You Can Help!
We need your support to make our dream a reality. As said before, we only need financial support for building the clinic and start-up costs in the first year of operation. The total budget for this project is approximately € 325.000 with the following breakdown:

• € 200.000 for the construction of the clinic, which includes consultation rooms, admission rooms, delivery rooms, an operating room, a pharmacy, a laboratory, and an echo chamber.
• € 50.000 for furnishing and medical equipment
• € 15.000 for a generator to ensure power
• € 60.000 for start-up costs in the first year of operation

Queen of Sheba Health Services sought cooperation with MissionInvest for fundraising and development. MissionInvest would like to get involved in this great project and aim to raise € 200.000. The remaining part of € 125.000 will be raised by Queen of Sheba itself. Donors will have the opportunity to be present at the opening of the maternity hospital and witness the impact of their contribution firsthand.

Impact – Why Your Support Matters
The new build clinic, will have capacity to provide high quality healthcare and support for about 1,000 deliveries a year. Year after year, this will have lasting impact on lives of thousands of mothers, their families and the new born babies! In addition, the clinic will also provide general out-patient care for about 1.000 – 2.000 people per month, on average about 20.000 people a year!

Your support is crucial in helping us achieve our vision. By partnering with us, you are not only contributing to the construction of a clinic but also investing in life. Your donation goes beyond bricks and mortar; it’s primairly about decreasing the mother and child mortality rate. Besides, it’s an investment in healthier families, a stronger society, and a brighter future for Nothern Ghana.