By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Sept. 2, GNA – The Eastern Regional Health Directorate has urged health workers to intensify preventive and health promotion activities under the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy to help reduce the disease burden in the region.
Dr Moses Barima Djimatey, Acting Eastern Regional Director of Health, said the policy would provide dedicated funding for community-level preventive services, including outreaches, home visits, school health screenings, and screening for hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
He said five pilot districts in the region had received funding for the first time, and implementation had commenced, describing the development as a major boost for Community Health Officers (CHOs) and District Directors of Health Services.
Dr Djimatey made the call at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate’s 2026 half-year performance review held in Koforidua.
The review brought together medical superintendents and health service staff from across the region to assess performance and discuss emerging policy directions.
Held on the theme, “Free Primary Health Care: Investing in Prevention, Promotion, Wellness for Reducing Disease Burden,” the meeting highlighted achievements and challenges within the regional health sector.
Dr Djimatey said although the region had recorded improvements in some areas, challenges remained, particularly in immunisation coverage, HIV prevalence and road traffic injuries.
He said maternal deaths had declined from 38 in 2024 to 32 in 2026, with a maternal mortality ratio of 89 deaths per 100,000 live births.
Institutional neonatal mortality, he said, stood at five deaths per 1,000 live births, below the national target of eight deaths per 1,000 live births.
He, however, stressed the need for sustained efforts to eliminate preventable maternal and neonatal deaths.
On malaria, Dr Djimatey said mortality remained low, recording two deaths each in 2025 and 2026, compared with one death in 2024.
He described the trend as encouraging and expressed optimism that ongoing interventions would further reduce malaria-related illnesses and deaths.
Despite these gains, he expressed concern over declining immunisation coverage in the region.
Data from the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) showed a decline in coverage for key vaccines between 2024 and 2026. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) coverage declined from 46.4 per cent to 44.5 per cent, while Penta 1 dropped from 46.8 per cent to 42.8 per cent.
Penta 3 coverage also fell from 50.5 per cent to 43.0 per cent, while Measles-Rubella 2 (MR2) declined from 45.7 per cent to 38.6 per cent during the period.
Dr Djimatey said HIV prevalence in the region increased from 2.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.1 per cent in 2022, making the Eastern region the highest among the 16 regions at the time.
He also expressed concern about the increasing incidence of road traffic injuries, noting that cases rose from 3,952 in 2024 to 7,442 in 2026.
Citing findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study, he said stroke remained the leading cause of death in Ghana, while ischaemic heart disease ranked third.
He said the growing burden of non-communicable diseases contributed to Ghana’s relatively low life expectancy, which stood at 67 years for females and 62 years for males.
Dr Djimatey said the FPHC policy was therefore crucial because primary healthcare served as the first point of contact within the health system and emphasised health promotion, disease prevention, basic clinical care and community empowerment.
He explained that primary healthcare implementation in Ghana extended from Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds to district hospitals, with CHPS facilities playing a central role in preventive and promotive healthcare delivery.
He observed that although the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had supported the financing of primary clinical care, a funding gap persisted in routine preventive and promotive activities, particularly those undertaken by CHOs.
Under the policy, CHOs would receive dedicated resources to undertake community outreaches, home visits, school health screening programmes, community durbars, health education and early referrals.
Dr Djimatey urged health managers and staff to ensure that the additional resources translated into improved service delivery and better health outcomes.
He said systems were being established to strengthen monitoring and financial accountability at the regional, district and sub-district levels and expressed the hope that the policy would move from the pilot phase to nationwide implementation.
Ms Richelle Adwoa Amofa, Deputy Director of Administration at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council, who represented the Eastern Regional Minister, Mrs Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, also called on health workers to prioritise prevention and health promotion.
She urged healthcare providers to deepen community engagement under the FPHC policy by working closely with schools, churches, mosques, businesses, traditional authorities, farmers’ associations and other community groups to promote healthy lifestyles and prevent diseases.
Ms Amofa identified immunisation, maternal and child health, nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, malaria control, disease surveillance, health education, and screening for diabetes and hypertension as areas requiring intensified attention.
She also cautioned against self-medication, noting that the practice could contribute to delayed treatment and avoidable deaths.
The Regional Minister, through her representative, urged health professionals to intensify public education on the dangers of self-medication and encourage people to seek prompt medical care when ill.
GNA
Edited by D. I. Laary/Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Emelia B. AddaeÂ
[email protected]Â