Former Footballer Gerald Asamoah, Partners Seek Avenue to Conduct Free Heart Surgeries at KATH
Former Ghanaian-born German footballer, Gerald Asamoah, has brought in a team of doctors and nurses, seeking avenues to replicate his routine free heart surgery initiative for children under three years in Kumasi.
Together with his partners, the founder of the Gerald Asamoah Foundation for Children with Heart Disease paid a courtesy visit to the Occupant of the Golden Stool, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on November 5, 2025.
He informed the King about plans to honour his birthplace with the initiative, which has been running for some time at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
“We seek the blessings of Otumfuo to embark on this objective,” the German football executive added.
One of the specialists on his delegation said the rare nature of heart defects in children, unfortunately, makes it elusive in most government policies and support plans.
“Worldwide, one per cent of all children have defects. It’s lean, so most governments are not so much focused on it. That is what we want to change and improve.”
According to him, the narrative is not different in Ghana.
Medical experts estimate that more than 7,000 Ghanaian children are born each year with heart defects, yet only a fraction are able to access the specialised care they need due to cost and limited capacity.
“That is something that is very unpopular and not always working here in Ghana, unfortunately. It’s our work, so we’ve been training to improve here so that in future, your doctors can do it.”
So far, they have undertaken four surgeries for children with heart disease from the age of two months up to two years.
He said the decision to replicate it in Kumasi is to reduce the stress and cost of travelling long hours to Accra to access their services.
“We are looking for an alternative to improve it because we are aware that some patients and families travel long hours to Accra to access our services. We are looking for a location and hospital to use here to treat and support with surgeries and interventions for children with heart disease.”
Commendation
Otumfuo commended Gerald and his team for the good cause and instantly arranged a meeting between them and the Chief Executive Officer of KATH.
“We are grateful that you are sacrificing your professional knowledge and training our personnel.”
He recognised this as part of the key collaborations between Ghana and Germany and committed to helping them realise their objectives within the country.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
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