By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Zebilla (U/E), Oct. 28, GNA – The Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO) has called on government agencies, health authorities, district assemblies and other stakeholders to collaborate in improving child health services and facilities in the Upper East Region.
The organisation said inadequate paediatric infrastructure, essential medical equipment and nursing staff in some health facilities were undermining efforts to provide quality healthcare for children under five years, particularly in refugee-hosting communities.
Dr Joseph Bangu, the Executive Director of NABOCADO, made the call during a stakeholder engagement and advocacy meeting under the Collaborative Child Health Initiative for Life-Saving and Development (CHILD) project held in Zebilla in the Bawku West District.
The CHILD Project, which began in November 2025 and is expected to end in October 2028, targets six health facilities and seven communities in the Bawku West, Binduri and Nabdam districts.
It seeks to reduce childhood illnesses among children under five years through nutrition support, community education, improved access to healthcare and strengthened capacity of health workers.
The project supports mothers in refugee-hosting and host communities to establish home gardens for cultivating leafy vegetables to improve household nutrition.
It also facilitates mother-to-mother support groups to enable women to share knowledge and experiences on child healthcare.
He said the organisation was seeking to build a common advocacy platform to mobilise state institutions, development partners, community leaders and individuals to address gaps in child healthcare delivery.
Dr Bangu said NABOCADO had been implementing the project since November 2025 to address nutrition-related challenges and childhood illnesses among vulnerable populations, including refugees and their host communities.
He noted that the influx of refugees into already resource-constrained communities had increased pressure on existing water, health and other social services, making collaboration among stakeholders essential.
“We cannot do it alone. We need to build that momentum. We need to mobilise ourselves together and come out with a common front.
“One prominent challenge is the lack of equipment. Mothers and children travel long distances to health facilities where even the basic amenities needed to provide care are unavailable. We are, therefore, advocating for more equipment and consumables to help health workers manage the cases brought to these facilities,” he said.
Mr Sebastian Tule, the Health Programmes Coordinator of NABOCADO, said a baseline survey conducted in the target communities identified inadequate infrastructure, staffing and medical equipment as major gaps affecting child healthcare delivery.
He said the advocacy initiative was intended to secure commitments from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), District Assemblies and other relevant institutions to improve paediatric facilities and ensure adequate nursing personnel were available to manage childhood illnesses.
Mr Tule said some mothers and children had to travel long distances to access healthcare, only to find facilities without the basic equipment and supplies needed to provide appropriate treatment.
He called for the posting of more paediatric nurses, improved staff capacity and the provision of essential equipment and consumables to enable health facilities to manage childhood illnesses promptly and refer complicated cases appropriately.
He said the project also sought to strengthen the capacity of mothers to identify danger signs in children, seek timely medical attention and adopt appropriate hygiene practices to prevent the spread of diseases.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Upper East Regional Director of the GHS, said under-five morbidity and mortality remained significant public health concerns requiring adequate staffing, appropriate infrastructure, essential equipment and other logistics.
He said common causes of illness and death among children under five included anaemia, malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases and malaria, stressing the need for timely and effective healthcare to reduce preventable childhood deaths and disabilities.
Dr Abubakari said the region faced challenges relating to inadequate healthcare personnel and their uneven distribution, as well as shortages of standardised paediatric units and the necessary infrastructure to care for sick children.
He said the Nabdam had one midwife to 417 women of reproductive age, Zebilla one to 494, and Binduri one to 1,204, adding that the figures highlighted the need to strengthen the healthcare workforce and improve the distribution and retention of personnel to enhance access to quality maternal, newborn and child health services.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]