By Kekeli K. Blamey
Sogakope (V/R), Sept. 12, GNA – A Free Primary Healthcare Post, popularly known as the “Health Kiosk”, has been commissioned at the Sogakope Market in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region to bring essential healthcare services closer to traders, transport operators and residents.
The facility, established in line with the national Free Primary Healthcare policy, is expected to remove financial and accessibility barriers to basic medical care by providing free essential health services, routine screening and immediate emergency triage within the busy commercial centre.
Commissioning the facility on Friday, Ms Victoria Dzeklo, South Tongu District Chief Executive (DCE), said locating primary healthcare services within high-density commercial centres was critical to protecting both the health and economic wellbeing of communities.
She commended the Central Government for initiating the policy and urged market women and residents to take advantage of the facility by seeking medical attention early and making routine health screening part of their daily lives.
Ms Dzeklo said women, in particular, often spent long hours trading and attending to family responsibilities, which could result in the neglect of their health.
She therefore encouraged them not to wait until health conditions became severe before seeking medical attention, stressing that early reporting and diagnosis could save lives and reduce the economic burden associated with prolonged illness.
The Member of Parliament for South Tongu, Mr Maxwell Kwame Lukutor, said the establishment of the facility was the result of sustained technical engagement and lobbying to secure the project for the constituency.
He said he personally facilitated aspects of the site survey works as part of efforts to ensure that the project was successfully located within the Sogakope Market.
Mr Lukutor said South Tongu was among only 10 constituencies in the Volta Region benefiting from the facility under the current phase of the national programme.
He reaffirmed his commitment to supporting initiatives that would improve healthcare delivery in the constituency, alongside educational interventions aimed at supporting students.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by traditional leaders, representatives of the South Tongu District Assembly and the Ghana Health Service, market executives and traders.
They included the Awadada of Fievie State, Torgbe Dagadu IV; the Presiding Member, Mr Mensah Kwaku Kudze; the Assembly Member for Sogakope South, Mr Williams William Kofi Gleku; officials of the Ghana Health Service District Directorate and the Sogakope Market Queen, Madam Florence Azaglo.
Traditional and market leaders commended the government and the District Assembly for bringing basic healthcare services closer to the people and appealed for continued investment in infrastructure and other amenities at major trading centres in the district.
They said the facility would particularly benefit traders and other workers who found it difficult to leave their businesses access healthcare at conventional health facilities.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah /Kenneth Odeng Adade