By: Murtala Issah
As part of efforts to increase access to maternal and infant healthcare, a new Community Health Planning Services (CHPS) compound has been inaugurated at Tarikpaa in the Savelugu Municipality of the Northern region.
The project was initiated by the community and supported by World Vision Ghana.
The inauguration of the CHPS compound also marked the exit of World Vision Ghana, from the Savelugu area programme after 24 years of operation, in which the organisation worked with communities in the area to address perennial water shortages, increased access to education, improve human rights and increase access to health.
Tarikpaa is a farming community in the Savelugu Municipality. The community had challenges with access to healthcare, with the only structure that served as a CHPS compound in a dilapidated state.
Most residents were forced to trek the long distance to Savelugu for health care. For children and women in labour, this was a challenge.
To address the challenge, the community initiated a new CHPS compound project to address the gap in access to health.
The Director of Health for the Savelugu Municipality, Mark Ayaaba Abugri, welcomed the initiative saying it will contribute towards the attainment of SDG 3 which seeks to ensure wellbeing for all by 2030.
He however appealed to the Assembly to provide accommodation to enable health personnel posted to the facility to stay there and provide a 24 hour service.
“With a midwife stationed here, the women in the community would no longer have to travel to Savelugu for antenatal care. We are grateful to World Vision for the facility. However, without accommodation, staff will be commuting from Savelugu to this community and that will not allow for a 24 hour service, “he noted.
The National Director for World Vision, Laura Cristina DelValle, in her address, thanked the chiefs and people of the area for the cordial relations they enjoyed over the last 24 years. She also mentioned some achievements of World Vision in the Savelugu Municipality.
“I am proud to say that the lives of many children have been transformed through World Vision Ghana’s interventions in safe water provision, and as of today, a total of 107 boreholes and 10 limited mechanised safe water systems have been provided, serving over 56,000 people directly and over 152,000 indirectly in the area programme,” she disclosed.
The Municipal Chief Executive for Savelugu, Hajia Ayishetu Seidu, urged the community to ensure proper maintenance of the facility to prolong its lifespan.
