OUR HISTORY

Whilst in medical school, Dr. John Kweku Kwawurah witnessed first-hand the level of deprivation and the lack of access to quality health care in poor rural communities when he was doing a community health programme in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Dr. Kwawurah was deeply moved by the plight of the poor and vulnerable rural folks. On getting back to the city, he resolved to find an efficient and sustainable means to provide essential health care services to poor and deprived communities in Ghana .

So, as a young doctor, then working at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Dr. Kwawurah organized a team of health care professionals, a stock of essential medications, medical supplies and equipment, and then began making monthly trips to some of the deprived communities to provide essential medical services directly to the people, especially sick children whose parents could not afford to send them to hospital.

It soon became clear to Dr Kwawurah that the problem was too big for one person to tackle. So, in January 2006, he founded HEALTHpage , GHANA , with personal cash contribution and donated items worth over twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00). He also volunteered full-time service for the organization for a year (without working for any hospital).

After operating for three years, a thorough evaluation was conducted to assess the impact of HEALTHpage GHANA since its inception . The outcome of the impact assessment exercise was a decision to restructure the organization and change its name. So, in May 2009, HEALTHpage, GHANA adopted a new legal name: DOCTORS FOR RIGHT TO HEALTH (DRH), and its mission also changed.

First, an objective and thorough evaluation of our past operations pointed to the need for a change in our approach to health development. We realised that adopting a human rights –based approach (RBA) would prove more effective, and produce the desired results quickly. Secondly, we were persuaded that we needed a name that would better reflect our philosophy that health is a human right. Finally, we believed that the name DOCTORS FOR RIGHT TO HEALTH would provide a solid and credible platform to advance the health and human rights for the most disadvantaged members of society.