Faustina Adu-Poku

Working closely with a variety of partners, HCP supports a full range of ophthalmic education – from the traditional rigorous training of surgeons to the intensive training of field workers that include nurses, field staff and biomedical technicians. This allows for the expansion of efficient eye care delivery, an increased number of patients treated and more trained eye care specialists. One such example is the story of Faustina Adu-Poku, a Biomedical Engineer at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

Faustina, who hails from Bekwai, also located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Electronics Engineering from Kumasi Technical University, formerly Kumasi Polytechnic, in addition to a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology in Kumasi.

Through hard work and determination, Faustina’s career has progressed and brought opportunities within the field of eye care as an engineer.

“During my 13 years of practical working experience with Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), I was put in charge of installation, servicing, maintenance and repairs of medical devices. Because of my industriousness, KATH sponsored me to pursue my BSc Biomedical Engineering degree after my first six years with the hospital.”

Faustina first encountered HCP after a need arose to help maintain the influx of equipment donated to KATH.

“I first heard about HCP in 2015 after my university education. l was approached by the administrator at the KATH Eye Center to fill a need for a Biomedical Engineer to manage the ophthalmic equipment coming from HCP. During my rounds at the center, I was inspired by the impact HCP was rendering to the hospital. I decided then to put my all into the great vision of restoring needless blindness through proper care, maintenance and management of ophthalmic equipment at the center and in Ghana as whole.”

Then, HCP provided Faustina with a training opportunity to study at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Nepal for two months for ophthalmic equipment maintenance training.

“The training at Tilganga and additional hospital based trainings supported by HCP have helped me develop in various ways when it comes to equipment management. My work goes a long way in all disciplines of eye health through the proper management of equipment, periodic planned preventive maintenance and user training - ensuring equipment down-time and breakdowns are minimized.

I am enthused to share my skills and knowledge to help the important cause of restoring sight, because the eye is the window to the body. I get such a feeling of joy when a patient’s sight is restored through the use of the equipment that l manage.”

Dedicated to the work, Faustina sees a bright future for eye care in Ghana.

“I envision a bright future for eye care in Ghana with the vast opportunities to gain knowledge that HCP provides at all levels of eye care disciplines and with the modern equipment and instruments donated. I am most grateful for the opportunities and the impact HCP is making in Ghana as a whole.”