Naadu Mills Urges Support For Red Cross

Accra, (Greater Accra) 10 Nov. Mrs. Ernestina Naadu Mills, wife of the Vice-President, Professor J.E.A. Mills, last night urged individuals and companies to support the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS) in its noble task of bringing relief to the suffering. The Second Lady said the Red Cross had demonstrated the capacity to successfully design and implement health programmes if it received the requisite resources. Speaking at the third annual gala dinner organised by the Red Cross to raise funds for its activities, Mrs. Mills acknowledged that the Ghana Red Cross had during its 68 years of existence "found for itself a very creditable role in assisting with health care in emergency situations". She emphasised the role of the Red Cross immunization campaign during the outbreaks of Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis (CSM), yellow fever and their work in AIDS prevention education, especially among the youth. Mrs. Mills noted that despite successes in the provision of social infrastructure and the availability of basic drugs, the economic reforms and deregulation of most sectors of the economy have not rpt not made life entirely easy for the people, especially those in the rural areas. This difficulty, she said, often made the cost of health care unaffordable for both the rural and urban poor, despite the heavy subsidies government provides towards health delivery. She said the deteriorating sanitation habits which often lead to outbreaks of diseases call for the strengthening of the resource base of non-governmental organisations operating in the health sector.