Come up with plans to improve living conditions of people. Minister tells assemblies
The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani, has called on the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) to come up with plans to improve the living conditions of the people, noting that the poverty levels in the region are the highest in the country with most of the children malnourished.
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He has, therefore, challenged the MDAs to work closely with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to ensure that the remaining regional Community Health and Planning Services (CHPS) compounds out of the designated 253 demarcated zones were completed in order to enhance adequate healthcare delivery to the people.
The region has completed a total of 213 CHPS compounds out of the designated 253 demarcated zones, and out of that total number, JICA has sponsored the construction of over 60 CHPS compounds.
This was revealed by Alhaji Sulemani during a day’s stakeholders meeting in Wa to map out strategies to ensure their sustenance to improve maternal and neonatal health services in the region.
Continuity of monitoring
The meeting, which attracted personnel from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), MDAs and the regional Co-ordinating Council, was aimed at reaffirming the continuity of monitoring after the GHS/JICA project phases out.
“I would like to urge all MDAs to continue to integrate this laudable project in your plans and budget to ensure its sustainability in the districts. You should always link up with the various District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) and address challenges that affect the implementation of health-related issues,” he said.
Alhaji Sulemani used the opportunity to commend JICA for their immense assistance and collaboration which was due to end in August this year but said, “Let me remind our development partners that the poverty levels in the region are still high and we need to collaborate to change this trend.”
He said the coordinating council had requested JICA to extend their project but they had not yet received any response from them, and, therefore, appealed to JICA to extend their programme, since the region was still not out of the woods.
Call on parents
Alhaji Sulemani called on parents to concentrate their resources more on the upkeep of their children to improve their levels of undernourishment.
For his part, the acting UWR Director of Health Services, Dr Winfred Ofosu, said out of the 11 districts, only two did not have permanent resident medical doctors, and thus called on the remaining two to ensure that they provided suitable accommodation in order to enable the government to post medical doctors to them, since more doctors continued to be trained each year.
To enhance proper delivery of healthcare services in the region, he appealed to the MDAs to ensure that all CHPS compounds were adequately equipped and furnished to achieve their purposes.
“I wish to make a special plea through your high office to the various MDAs that the construction of CHPS compound should include equipment and furnishing in line with the national CHPS policy to promote its functionality within the shortest possible time,” he said.