Anglican Church opens clinic at Nyankamam

The Anglican Church in the Sekondi Diocese has commissioned a Diocesan Episcopal Clinic at Nyankamam near Enchi in the Aowin Suaman District of the Western Region.

The gesture forms part of the Church's avowed commitment to complement government's effort to meet the health care needs of the predominantly cocoa farmers in the area as part of meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) in the health sector.

The GHC200,000.00 health facility, is the first of many clinics anticipated to be commissioned in the Sekondi Diocese after losing three clinics to the Diocese of Sefwi-Wiawso when it was ceded in 2006.

Cutting the tape to commission the facility, the Rt. Rev. Alexander Kobina Asmah was elated that the facility had been completed through the hard work of the Sekondi Diocese with support from United Thank Offering (UTO) of the USA and United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) in the UK.

He paid glowing tribute to traditional rulers in the area for giving the Church the green light to open a health facility out of the wooden structures Samartrx Company had handed over to the Church under his predecessor, Bishop John Kwamina Otoo and a contingent of his Development and Medical Board team which inspected the structure almost a decade now.

He said the Anglican Church had come to come to the Aowin Shaman District to serve as it had been granted the Enchi Archdeaconry status somewhere in May 2017 adding that "the evangelical aspects as well as our corporate social responsibilities would now be served to foster the growth of Anglicanism in the area".

He said the facility was in fulfilment of the great commission where the Lord and Master Jesus Christ went through the towns preaching and healing everywhere.

Rt.Rev. Asmah said the Church had formed close ties with the Regional and District Health Directorates to provide the required needs.

He said the church was yet to operate with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and appealed to the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) to pave the formalities to be arranged for the clinic to benefit from the health insurance and other privileges.

The District Director of Health Service, Mrs. Rita A.Attah was happy about the partnership between the Anglican Church and the Ghana, Health Services (GHS) to provide health care delivery to society.

She appealed to expectant mothers to go the hospital to seek aeante-natal care from qualified health professionals to forestall pre and post-natal complications.

Mrs. Attah assured the clinic of the support of the GHS to improve the health conditions of people in the catchment area.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area, Mr.Samuel Adu Gyamfi said government was happy when religious organizations support projects like provision of religious infrastructure.

He said the health of the people was paramount to the rapid socio-economic development of the nation.

Mr. Adu Gyamfi pledged the readiness of the Assembly to lend the required support to the church through the chiefs to register the land and the clinic in a bid to make the project sustainable, grow and serve future generations.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr. Matthias Ntow commended the church for its spiritual and physical healing services.

He pledged to renovate the male ward of the facility at a cost of GHC11, 000.00.

The Human Resource Manager of CHAG, Mr. Samuel Nublega said the association was very instrumental in health care delivery.

It would therefore make all efforts for the church to register with the association and benefit from the NHlS.

Mr. Nublega said the core mandate of the CHAG was to improve accessibility of the poor to affordable health care delivery in a bid to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Parish Priest of the St. Peter's Anglican Church, the Rev. Father Lawrence Donkor disclosed in interview that the Parish has about 119 hamlets around the clinic.

He said most of them are predominantly cocoa farmers who were in dire need of such a medical facility.