By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey & Christabel Kporvie, GNA
Accra, Sept. 2, GNA – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has donated three vehicles to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to improve monitoring of health interventions in three regions.
The vehicles will support the implementation of the GHS’s Improving Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAHN) programme and Networks of Practice (NoP).
Mr Dong Wan Woo, Country Director of the KOICA Ghana Office, said the donation formed part of broader efforts to strengthen health service delivery in the Ashanti, Central and Eastern regions.
He said the vehicles, procured by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), would improve the mobility of health teams and facilitate supervision, coordination and monitoring at regional, district and community levels.
Mr Woo said the handover was part of a broader procurement package, with an additional 38 items of equipment currently being procured.
Ms Emmanuelle Collet, UNICEF Deputy Country Director, said the vehicles would enhance supervision, coordination and support for health facilities operating within the Networks of Practice.
“This will enhance the ability of health teams to reach facilities and communities, improve service delivery, and support better health outcomes for women, newborns, children and adolescents,” she said.
Dr Kennedy Brightson, Director of the Family Health Division of the GHS, said the vehicles were robust enough to enable health teams to reach communities and remote areas where access to health facilities could be challenging.
He said some newborns developed complications after leaving health facilities but were sometimes unable to return for timely medical care, resulting in some families resorting to traditional remedies.
“Under the strengthened approach, health workers would be better positioned to reach mothers and babies in their homes, monitor their health and link those requiring further care to appropriate health facilities,” he said.
Effective monitoring, he stressed, would support the early identification of danger signs among pregnant women, while improved community follow-up and early referral could help prevent complications from worsening.
On maternal deaths in the country, Dr Brightson said the GHS was intensifying efforts to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for women.
He said the health system had established structures for investigating maternal deaths through the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response system, which enabled health authorities to audit deaths, identify contributing factors and take corrective action.
The handover is art of ongoing collaboration between the Government of Ghana, KOICA and UNICEF to strengthen the Networks of Practice approach and build a more resilient and equitable health system.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Email: [email protected]