Govt determined to make healthcare accessible to all

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has said it is the intention of the government to send health care delivery to the doorsteps of Ghanaians, irrespective of their geographical locations.

Government is, therefore, building more Community Health and Planning Services (CHPS) compounds, clinics, and hospitals to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 and 5, aimed at reducing maternal and child mortality.

Mr. Kofi Buah, who is also the Minister for Energy and Petroleum Resources, said this when ENI Foundation, a subsidiary of ENI Ghana, inaugurated a new CHPS compound at Nyamebekyere in the Aiyinasi North of the Ellembelle District, and donated four ambulances to the Ellembelle, Jomoro and Ahanta West Districts of the Western Region.

He congratulated ENI Foundation for that humanitarian gesture and appealed to them to continue to lend the required development support to move the area forward.

The projects follow a partnership agreement between ENI Foundation, the Ministry of Health, with support from the Ministry of Energy, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana Christian Health Association in support of the MDG.

Mr Buah said the project and facilities provided by ENI Ghana demonstrated their commitment to support basic health care service delivery, thereby making ENI Ghana a real partner in developmental efforts.

He appealed to the people of Nyamebekyere and other beneficiaries to put the facilities to good use and pledged his support to develop the area.

"I will continue to champion our forward march towards the provision of potable water, quality education, quality health care, access to electricity and skill development for our youth,"stated Mr Buah.

The Managing Director of ENI Ghana, Mr Fabio Cavanna, said his outfit would closely collaboration with other partners in Ghana to strengthen maternal and child health care services in the Western Region to reduce maternal and infant mortality.

He thanked the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Health, and District Assemblies for their support towards putting in place sustainable projects to better the lot of the people.

Mr. Cavanna said his outfit would donate a boat ambulance to the Jomoro District to support the people on the lagoon and would provide training for health care providers to ensure sustainable growth.

The Ellembelle District Director of Health Services, Madam Elizabeth Corney, said the ENI Foundation had taken a bold step towards the attainment of the MDG 4 and 5 through the implementation of a healthy mother and child project in the three coastal Districts, including Ellembelle.

She said that the Nyamebekyere CHPS zone would serve 13 communities in two administrative areas whose greatest challenge was access to healthcare due to poor road network, especially during the rainy season, when the sick could not be transported to the nearest health centre at Aiyinasi.

Madam Corney said among the laudable projects embarked upon by ENI foundation were the revamping of the Maternal Units and other structures in four health centres; namely Esiama, Aiyinasi, Asasetre and Nkroful among others.