By Jones Anlimah
Residents in Island Communities of Tokpo in the Krachi West district and Dentemanso and its peripheries in the Karachi Nchumuru district of the Oti Region can now have access to Basic and Primary Healthcare within their immediate reach. This follows the commissioning of two Health Facilities provided by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare at a cost of more than GHC1.6 million.
Prior to the provision of the two Health Facilities, residents in the two Communities and its peripheries had to travel long distances and over the Volta Lake to access Primary Healthcare.
Access to Basic and Primary Healthcare in most Island Communities including Tokpo in the Krachi West district and Dentemanso in the Nchumuru District and its Peripheries in the Oti region is a major challenge. According to residents in both Communities, they had to travel across the Volta Lake and over long distances to have access to primary and basic healthcare.
The situation is mostly compounded by the poor nature of road networks in those areas. According to the residents some pregnant women have had to lose their lives and babies during child birth due to the lack of access to primary health care within their immediate reach. The provision of the Health Facilities in the two districts in the Oti Region was therefore a welcoming news to the residents in the beneficiary Communities.
The provision of the two Community-based Health Planning and Service, (CHPS) Compounds by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare for Tokpo in the Krachi West district and Dentemanso in the Nchumuru District in the Oti Region was in response to stakeholder engagements on the need to prioritize Healthcare Delivery in hard to reach and Island Communities in the Region.
The two facilities estimated more than GHC 1.6 million is equipped with Solar Powered Panels and Accommodation for Staff Nurses.
At a ceremony to handover the two facilities and a motor bike for use, the Chief of Dentemanso in the Krachi Nchumuru district of the Oti Region, Nana Kadewura, thanked KOFIH and its key partners including the Ghana Health Service for the facility as it will bring to an end the long suffering of the people in accessing Primary Healthcare. The Chief appealed to the government to come to their aid to improve the road networks.
The Ghana Country Director for the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare, Mr. Jinho Kang said KOFIH will continue to assist Ghana towards achieving Universal Access to Healthcare.
The Director-General for the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Kumah Aboagye, commended KOFIH for the gesture and urged the benefiary Communities to own the facility and ensure good maintenance culture to prolong the life span of the facilities. He said the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service will continue to partner key stakeholders to improve upon healthcare delivery in Ghana.
