Introduction
The second half of the twentieth century bore witness to significant declines in mortality among children in Africa. Ghana was no exception, experiencing declines in mortality from the 1950s onward. A series of Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Ghana documented substantial improvements in infant and childhood mortality rates between 1988 and 1998. The results of recent World Health Organisation surveys , however, indicate that these improvements have stagnated. There was some concern that mortality might even be on the rise.

The Barbara Kwateng Lupus Trust is responding to these concerns and aim to focus on improvements in infant and child health by developing a hospital for children.

Download MAAP Plan of Barbara Kwateng Children Hospital

The Vision
Children represent the future, and ensuring their healthy growth and development ought to be a prime concern of all societies. Newborns are particularly vulnerable and children are vulnerable to malnutrition and infectious diseases, many of which can be effectively prevented or treated.

The Barbara Kwateng Lupus Trust has an opportunity to develop a hospital in Juaben Ashanti, Ghana to provide treatment and care for infants, children and adolescents. The project shall provide for both paediatric inpatient and outpatients alongside programmes for reproductive and maternal care (a current G8 initiative) as well as acting as a hub for outreach work such as immunization programmes, school health and youth health promotion and awareness.

About the Barbara Kwateng Lupus Trust Barbara Kwateng passed away in Brussels on 9th August 2005, soon after being diagnosed
with the Lupus disease at the age of 28. Barbara was unaware of the symptoms associated with Lupus, for this reason, her family and friends set up the Barbara Kwateng Lupus Trust (BKLT). The Trust aims to raise awareness and support research into the causes and effects of Lupus. This is an illness that predominantly affects young women between ages 15 and 45.

Location and perceived need
The site lies 28 KM to the north east of Kumasi, in Ejisu – Juaben district. There is a distinct lack of medical facilities for children in the area and a large and growing young population of rural and semi-rural families in the district and around an expanding Kumasi. Two pieces of land have been made available to the BKLT for the development.

The Site
The land is in two parcels – one with a frontage off the main Ejisu to Effiduasi road, on the Ntonso road which lies on higher ground sloping to the south. A small road runs along the southern boundary adjacent to a citrus plantation to a Habitat colony and the other parcel – a rectangular plot also sloping further to the south. The small road continues beyond this towards Juaben town itself, less than a kilometre away.

The Hospital
The hospital is not just a place to come to when you are sick. It is also a place to come in order to keep well. The accommodation is not just treatment rooms and wards of inpatients – it is an activity centre and learning hub for adults as well as children.

Download MAAP Plan of Barbara Kwateng Children Hospital