Category: Medical

Mr David Agbokpe, the Ketu South Municipal Director of Health Services, has expressed the hope that the municipality will achieve its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) target, ensuring residents have access to healthcare without financial hardship by 2030. He said the contributions of stakeholders and benevolent individuals towards ensuring quality health service provision had been very encouraging. It would help ensure that all people had timely access to high quality healthcare services irrespective of their ability to pay at the point of use as envisioned under the UHC, he said. Mr Agbokpe disclosed this at the Directorate's 2023 Programme of Work (PoW) Review, which is a forum to give feedback to stakeholders in health on the performance of the Directorate, its successes and challenges. He said such support and collaborations were much appreciated and encouraged in society to aid service provision. 'I am extremely happy that with little push, the UHC will be achieved come the end of 2030,' he said. Mr Agbokpe mentioned Mr Felix Akakpo (Akonta) as one of the individuals that supported the construction of a family health unit, maternity block and community information centre at Lente-Wute Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS). Others were Mr Futukpor Dzisah of Klikor, who constructed the Klikor Health Centre, refurbished and expanded the Agbozume Health Centre, and 'Let Your Light Shine Enterprise' at Denu. He acknowledged Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Member of Parliament, for supporting the annual eye screening exercise in the municipality. He said Mr Maxwell Koffie Lugudor, the Municipal Chief Executive, was working with the Assemblyman and opinion leaders to extend electricity and water to the newly built CHPS compound at Amutinu. He said CHPS implementation was one key area of interest to ensure the achievement of UHC. The municipality currently has 35 operationalised CHPS facilities out of the 45 demarcated, Mr Agbokpey said, and that plans were advanced to operationalise more of th ose compounds at Amutinu and Agbevekope. 'Network of practice, which is to complement CHPS activities toward achieving UHC has started in the municipality. Stakeholder engagement has been done…for full implementation,' he said. He, however, said the Municipality needed human resources, including doctors and general nurses, equipment and funds, to support its interventions such as vaccination and construction of CHPS compounds. He appealed for further support in those critical areas for effective and quality service delivery. Source: Ghana News Agency

The Government has released 14 million Euros to the contractors working on the Mother and Child Unit (MBU) project of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi to resume work. The Government has also released five million dollars to the contractors working on the Afari Military Hospital to complete that project. Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minister of Finance, made this known when he paid a working visit to inspect the MBU project at the KATH. He said the contractors had agreed to resume work on the 900-bed capacity block within two weeks. The Minister said the Government was committed to completing all ongoing projects in the Ashanti Region, including the Sofoline interchange, the central market phase two project, the KATH Mother and Child block, the Kumasi International Airport and some road projects. 'The President of Ghana would make a big announcement in the coming days and the people of the Ashanti Region will have cause to be happy' Dr Amin Adam told journalists after the inspection. Pro fessor Otchere Addai-Mensah, the Chief Executive of KATH, said the main blocks of the hospital were undergoing a comprehensive renovation works under the 'Heal Kath Project' initiated by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, as part of his legacy projects. He said currently, management of the hospital had adopted a phase-by-phase approach towards the project due to lack of space to move patients on admission in the various wards. The completion of the 900-bed Maternity block would be a welcome gesture since management would have more space to move patients and carry out the renovation works at the blocks, also known as GEE blocks, named after its contractor. Prof Addae-Mensah said aside the commitment to put KATH in good shape, the hospital lacked equipment and was working with one dialysis machine despite the huge number of patients who visited the facility for care. 'The difficult call I have had to make as CEO has been to ask patients to be sent to private facilities because of lack of equipment to tre at them,' he stated. Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, the Health Minister-Designate, says there will be intensive supervision in public health facilities across the country if Parliament approves his nomination as the Minister of Health. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) was nominated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as Minister of Health to replace Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, pending parliamentary approval. Dr Boye, speaking at a ceremony at Tempane in Upper East Region to commission a newly constructed NHIA edifice for the district, emphasised that managers of public health facilities would be strictly accountable for the resources they used. 'Now that I am going to the Ministry of Health, if by the grace of God I pass the vetting, there will be serious supervision. Nobody in this country will run a government hospital as if it is for his father or mother,' he said. 'I have worked in the Government sector before. If you don't supervise people strictly, they even forget that they hav e bosses and with time, they run government facilities like their private business.' Apart from the Tempane District, Dr Boye commissioned similar edifices in the Pusiga and Bawku West districts. He said even though the Authority regularly vetted claims from health facilities and paid accordingly, some managers of hospitals failed to pay for the cost of medicines they received from the Regional Medical Stores for onward payment to the Central Medical Stores and the pharmaceutical companies. '….I have been encouraging the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service to monitor all the hospital heads, get interested in what they do with their hospital money, because if they do not pay the stores, even if the Authority pays them, there will be no medicines in the hospital,' he said. Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, noted that Dr Boye's commitment to the health of the citizenry was demonstrated by his constant touch with the people. 'In December 2022, he wa s in the Region on monitoring and for the launch of 'My NHIS App' in Tamale,' he said. Mr Yakubu congratulated Dr Boye on his nomination for the MMinister of Health position saying it was in recognition of his love for humanity and expressed the hope that the health system in Ghana would improve under his leadership. 'There were challenges in the past but with the sterling leadership of the CEO, some level of stability has been attained with delayed payment in claims reduced from 14 months to monthly.' He called on stakeholders in the beneficiary districts to ensure the newly commissioned edifices were properly maintained, adding: 'It is your property and should be seen as such.' Source: Ghana News Agency

The Paediatric Society of Ghana is calling on the Government to enhance the school feeding programme to help address child malnutrition in the country. In a communique shared with the Ghana News Agency from its annual general meeting, the Society said malnutrition remained 'a major problem,' and that with the extended effects on the nation's growth and development, programmes and initiatives to enhance food security should be enhanced. Signed by Dr Hilda Mantebea Boye, President of the Society, and Dr Gabrielle Obeng-Koranteng, its Secretary, the communique commended the Government's initiative to provide meals in basic schools as having the potency deliver the nutrition needs of children in the country. The program is being implemented in selected districts, and the Society said stakeholders need increase funding to expand its coverage. The communique read: 'We commend the Government of Ghana over the years on steps taken to combat malnutrition in all its forms in the country including the launch of the national nutrition policy, introduction of the school feeding program, and planting for food and jobs, all which have potential to curb food insecurity and promote good nutrition among children. 'The Paediatric Society of Ghana implores the Government to increase funding for the school feeding program and expand beneficiary schools to ensure that more children can be provided with nutritious meals that meet minimum daily requirements for all nutrients.' The Society said it continued to advocate the safe cultivation of food as the base for adequate nutrition, and further called for continuous training and capacity for both mothers and health care providers in ensuring quality nutrition before and during pregnancy. The 'worsened plight' of the children of Volta Region amidst the ongoing flood devastation was also highlighted, and the PSG urged more support for affected communities. The communique concluded 'the Paediatric Society of Ghana would like to state that, the future survival of the county and its d evelopment is inextricably linked to the quality of children we bring up today. 'Good nutrition to ensure adequate physical, mental, and cognitive development will be essential to ensure that the country is handed over to a skilled and productive population.' The annual general meeting was held in Ho on the theme 'The Economic and Social Impact of Child Malnutrition on Ghana's Long-Term Development,' and more than 200 members of the Society attended the event which included a business conference, and an exhibition. Source: Ghana News Agency

Authorities of the St. Martin's Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum in the Amansie South District have made a passionate appeal to individuals and organizations to help procure incubators to save the lives of pre-term babies at the facility. The Hospital, which is the only referral health facility in the Amansie South and West districts, two most deprived districts in the Ashanti region, as well as some nearby communities in the central region, is facing myriad of challenges. The lack of incubators has resulted in the death of many pre-term babies delivered at the facility or referred to the facility. The Hospital lacks operational vehicles and the deplorable nature of the road network in the area is severely impeding efficient and effective healthcare delivery in the area. Dr Nana Osei Appau, Clinical Coordinator of the Hospital, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that, many patients, especially pre-term babies are lost due to lack of incubators to save their lives. He said since the Hospital was a r eferral facility, a lot of pre-term cases were referred to the facility but there was no single incubator and that made it difficult for the doctors and nurses to save the lives of the babies. Dr Appau said the Hospital needed a lot of resources to be able to deliver quality healthcare to the people who were mostly farmers and miners. The facility needs the support of the government, philanthropic organisations, and individuals to help provide adequate infrastructure, logistics and consumables to ensure smooth operations. Some of the patients at the Hospital who spoke with the Ghana News Agency, corroborated the words of the Hospital Coordinator, and called for urgent support from individuals and organizations as well as the government to enable the inly health facility in the area provides quality healthcare services to the people. Source: Ghana News Agency