Government to pay health workers well

Koforidua, Feb. 19, GNA- The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Gustav Narh-Dometey on Thursday said the government is putting in place a mechanism to ensure that, health workers in the country receive salaries comparable to that of their colleagues abroad.

He therefore, on behalf of the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council and Government, expressed his appreciation to health workers who have been patriotic and decided to stay in the country to work. Mr Narh-Dometey was speaking at the Annual Review Meeting of Senior Managers of health facilities in the Eastern Region at Koforidua on Wednesday.

The three-day meeting is being organized under the theme " Strengthening Maternal and Child Health through partnership with the community", and is being attended by over 90 participants. He charged the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the region to focus its attention on the reduction of the HIV/AIDS menace, reduction of malaria and the promotion of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Mr Narh-Dometey expressed the hope that by June this year, all District Assemblies would have inaugurated their District-wide Health Insurance Schemes in an attempt to replace the cash and carry system.

The Eastern Regional Director of Health Service, Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyirah observed that, the challenges facing the region include provision of 500 million cedis annually to provide services on 50 islands and 61 deprived sub-districts in the region and how to motivate staff working at those places.

He said the Regional Secretariat of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is thinking of committing the District Assemblies to develop composite District Health Plans that would commit the District Assemblies to the Health Insurance Programme, water and sanitation, immunization and the construction of staff quarters and rehabilitation of health facilities in the District.

Dr Appiah-Denkyirah said the region recorded massive drop in measles from 1299 in 2002 to four in 2003 following the mass immunization programme.

He said Guinea Worm cases also dropped in the villages and farming communities.

The Regional Head of Clinical Service, Dr Joseph Taylor who chaired the function said, the reduction of maternal mortality in the country is a social issue and health workers alone could not help achieve the desired result. He said policies needed to be put in place and society's help to stop maternal deaths.