“Each year more than five million people die from waterborne diseases and in Ghana close to 70 percent of all illness is caused by waterborne contaminants,” says George Oliver, CEO, GE Water & Process Technologies. “By installing our water scarcity solutions, patients now have access to safe, clean water - a resource that is essential to all healthcare environments.”

The new equipment installed includes a reverse osmosis (RO) filtration technology, which serves two purposes at the facility. GE's RO solution removes impurities from the hospitals' current water supply and also creates an ultra-pure water source - a critical element in running life-saving Dialysis machines. Also received was a new water holding tank, which can stockpile excess water in a safe, healthy environment; new water holding tank indicators, which allow the hospital to keep abreast of current water supply levels; and anti-stagnation water treatment technology, which mixes and recycles old and current water supplies, so that water stagnation and the growth of dangerous and disease-causing waterborne organisms are prevented. In addition to GE's water scarcity solutions, the company also made additional donations that include a fluoroscopy unit for radiology, ultrasounds, incubators, monitors, lighting, electrical distribution equipment, and Internet connectivity.

Officially launched last year, GE's African healthcare initiative donated the equipment to the U.S.-based not-for-profit, Assist International, which, in turn, donated the equipment to the Ghana Health Services. Assist International and GECAD, a local distributor for GE, provide shipping logistics, ground-level support and site preparation, and on-site coordination to ensure timely, cost-effective and quality construction, as well as sustainable operation of the facilities and equipment.