By Mohammed Balu
Tumu, (UWR), Feb. 19, GNA – Mr Clifford Vengkungmwene, the Sissala East Municipal Director of Health, has lauded the exceptional efforts of health staff, dedicated volunteers and various stakeholders, which led to significant improvement in health service delivery.
He said the efforts had been evident in the Municipality’s impressive score of 4.1 out of 5 on the holistic assessment tool.
Mr Vengkungmwene gave the commendation during the annual performance review for 2024, held in Tumu on the theme: “Leveraging Networks of Practice: A Strategy for Attaining Universal Health Coverage by 2030.”
He said this year’s performance had improved as compared to last year, with most measurable indicators showing progress.
Mr Vengkungmwene noted that additionally against nationally set targets, they were now recognized among the high-performing zones based on assessment conducted by the Nandom District two weeks ago.
The Director highlighted several key statistics, which included the proportion of mothers making at least four antenatal care (ANC) visits increasing from 83.5 per cent last year to 85.4 per cent.
The percentage of children aged 6-59 months receiving routine Vitamin A supplementation rising from 97.8 to 99.8 while the percentage of ANC registrants within the first trimester climbed from 77.9 per cent to 80.5 per cent and the coverage for vaccines, including measles and rubella, also improved, with rubella coverage increasing from 88.6 per cent to 94.0 per cent.
Mr Vengkungmwene outlined some priorities for 2024, including achieving zero maternal and neonatal mortality, reducing home deliveries, increasing institutional deliveries, and improving emergency care and response services.
He said, “We have successfully increased the number of skilled deliveries and expanded family planning services, and we have made significant progress in improving critical surveillance indicators for monitoring community health.”
Mr Vengkungmwene pointed out several challenges affecting health delivery, chronic shortages of essential medical supplies and equipment, irregular medicine deliveries from
regional medical stores, and a lack of motorbikes that hampers timely service delivery to remote areas.
He also mentioned the deteriorating health infrastructure, low birth weights linked to poor maternal nutrition, and the absence of a mortuary at the Tumu Municipal Hospital as significant hurdles needing urgent attention.
Mr Abubakr Musah, the Sissala East Municipal Coordinating Director, acknowledged the significant improvements made in the health sector and emphasized the importance of mobilizing more resources for more improvement.
Mr Issah Mohammed Bataglia, the Member of Parliament for Sissala East, encouraged health staff to continue their dedication to quality health delivery.
He promised to allocate part of the health component of the District Assembly Common Fund to increase laboratory services available to the population and pledged to support the career development of deserving health personnel in collaboration with the health committee.
Mr Tahiru Mohammed Abey, the Deputy Director in charge of clinical health, announced that tricycles would soon be distributed to ensure health care reaches all areas of the municipality.
He commended the various districts for their collective achievements and expressed satisfaction with improvements in the network of service, noting that 19 initiatives were focused on fostering collaboration and integration.
He emphasized that maternal and child health must be prioritized, stating it was unacceptable to record 23 maternal deaths in 2023 and another 20 in 2024.
GNA