Mr Divine Kporha, a nursing officer currently practicing at the Ketu South Municipal Hospital in the Volta Region has been adjudged the 2023 National Best Nurse and Midwife by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association.
At the Association’s fourth annual Awards and Dinner Night at Kempinski Hotel, Accr., Divine Kporha fought off competition from nominees from all sixteen regions to take home the coveted prize of a brand new Nissan Almera Saloon car with 1.8 engine capacity, a plague, shash, a citation and undisclosed cash which was presented to him by Akwamuhene Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III on behalf of GRNMA.
He says his humanitarian activities and volunteerism are the secrets that won him the 2023 National Best Nurse & Midwife Award.
He said raising funds personally to construct a neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) at his facility and constructing toilet for cured lepers, among many other works won him the honours.
“…The construction of a well-equipped neo-natal intensive care unit at the Ketu South Municipal Hospital was made possible by funding from the Australian High Commission through the Mental Health and Wellbeing Foundation. They gave me 42,000 Australian dollars to be able to set up that facility”, he said.
He said he also got incubators, ventilators, radiant warmers, and other modern and sophisticated hospital kits for the Hospital through his philanthropic efforts.
Mr. Kporha took home a for his contribution towards the improvement of maternal health in the Ketu South Municipality.
The awards scheme, according to Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, President of GRNMA, was created to motivate nurses and midwives to strive for excellence, innovation and an increased commitment to service that involved saving lives.
Other nurses and midwives received awards classified under various categories.
Under the Special Category Awards, Naomi Oti, an oncology nurse specialist took the Dr. Dora Ann Kisseh International Achievement award whilst Richard Amankwa, a nurse at the Assin Banchiase CHPS compound in the Central Region, took home the Rural Service Award.
Kate Otoo, a senior midwife based at the Pentecost Hospital in Madina, Greater-Accra Region, won the Regional Best Nurse/Midwife category.
She took home a laptop, a cash price of GHC 3000, plaque, shash and a citation.
Ms Otoo and Evelyn Osei Acquah, an oncology nurse specialist from the Northern Regional Hospital, were adjudged the first and second national runners-up respectively.
Kate took home a cash amount of GHC50,000 cedis whilst Evelyn took home GHC40,000 cedis aside a plaque, citation and a shash.
Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, the Paramount Chief of Akwamu State in the Eastern Region, encouraged all nurses to keep up the good work.
The GRNMA awards were instituted in 2020 at the 60th anniversary of GRNMA to recognise and motivate nurses and midwives, who through their service, initiatives and innovations distinguished themselves in the healthcare sector within their various fields of specialties.
About Mr Divine Kporha
Divine Kporha graduated from the University of Health and Allied Sciences in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. He holds a postgraduate certificate in philanthropic leadership from the Pan-African Leadership Institute and is now pursuing his Master of Public Health program at the premier university in Ghana.
He is also a member of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals, in Italy.
He served the nation as a registered general nurse at the Keta Municipal Hospital, where he worked closely with the nursing administration and in-service training as a facilitator. Divine is currently with the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Ketu South Municipal Hospital, Aflao.
He is the Executive Director of the Divine Kporha Charity Foundation.
While at UHAS, he served as President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and was also President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Volta Regional Bloc.
Dedicated to improving community mental health, he also served as President of the Mental Health and Well-being Foundation, Ghana-UHAS, in 2016 and 2017 and is currently the Vice President. He graduated as the first recipient of the “Prof. Fred Newton Binka Prize for Best Graduating Student with Demonstrated Service to the University Community.”
Divine was also the NASPA President-Keta Nurses and Midwives Wing.
As a young graduate of UHAS, Divine has continued to distinguish himself through his compassion for the less privileged, working with communities to tackle the stigma associated with mental health, leprosy, and suicide prevention. He has raised funds to support people living with disabilities through several community development projects, resulting in improved quality of life.
In 2018, he was honored with the Kofi Annan Youth Inspirational Award for his dedication to community service, and in 2019, he was recognized with the highest accolade a young person can receive for social action and humanitarian efforts, the United Kingdom’s Diana Award, “for selflessly transforming the lives of others and going above and beyond to create and sustain positive change.”
That award was established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, with support from her two sons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.
Divine is the 2022/23 Volta and Oti Regional Best Nurse for his innovative leadership shown to the nursing and midwifery fraternity as he worked hard to secure from the Australian High Commission, Ghana, a 42,000 AUD grant through the Mental Health and Well-being Foundation to set up a well-equipped Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Ketu South Municipal Hospital to improve neonatal health outcomes in the district and region at large.
He secured funding again from the Rotary Club of Ivanhoe, Australia, to implement the NICU Graduation Project, where the first 20 survivors of the intensive care unit were graduated to restore lost smiles on the faces of their parents.
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Source: MyGhanaMedia.com / Noach Osoklono
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