By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Bolgatanga, Sept. 06, GNA -The Upper East Region has emerged as a leading region in the implementation of the Free Primary Health Care (FPHC) programme, with other regions reportedly looking to it for lessons on effective implementation.
Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Regional Director of Health Services, said the region’s early preparations, including the training of trainers, and the introduction of a dedicated visit bags to support outreach to districts, had placed the region ahead in the implementation process.
He said the region’s experience had attracted attention from the national level, with officials and facilitators from other regions making repeated references to the region during training sessions.
“The Upper East Region has become a base that is suddenly ahead in the implementation of Free Primary Health Care,” Dr Abubakari said, at a two-day Trainer of Trainers (ToT) programme in Bolgatanga.
He added that the region’s status as one of the first to establish its own ToT programme and acquire a FPHC equipment and logistics to reach districts had contributed significantly to its progress.
“We feel that we are miles ahead. Now the Ministry and the Service are asking us how we are doing it in the Upper East Region, so they could follow,” he said.
He disclosed that during a recent training session, participants and facilitators repeatedly referred to lessons from the Upper East Region, while inputs from the region’s facilitators were being incorporated into training notes.
“The facilitators here made a lot of inputs that make sense to them, to enable them to go and revise their notes,” he said, and commended the team for its contribution.
Dr Abubakari directed District Health Directorates to ensure that equipment received under the programme were promptly distributed to health facilities rather than being kept in medical stores.
He explained that the distribution of the equipment to individual facilities was deliberately left to the discretion of district health managers because they were best placed to determine which facilities needed particular equipment.
He said the timely distribution of the equipment was necessary to improve the quality of services at health centres, particularly for patients referred from community-level facilities.
Dr Abubakari raised concerns about home visit bags that were still kept at District Health Directorates instead of being distributed to health facilities, and urged all districts to ensure the bags reached the intended facilities.
“They are supposed to be at the facility level for distribution,” he said.
He further indicated that efforts would be made to address gaps in equipment distribution, particularly in deprived areas under the FPHC initiative.
The Regional Director’s remarks come as health authorities intensify preparations for the implementation of the FPHC programme, with the Upper East Region positioning itself as a source of practical lessons for other regions.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]