Health Infrastructure improves in Nabdam District

Health infrastructure and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities have increased tremendously within the last three years in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

The District can now boast of 17 Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHIPS) compounds connected with water facilities from six CHIPS centres, and 19 boreholes spread evenly across the communities whilst the construction of more CHIPS centres and boreholes are also ongoing.

This came to light when Madam Agnes Anamoo, the District Chief Executive for the area, accompanied by some Journalists conducted a two-day monitoring visit to inspect some of the projects in some of the beneficiary communities.

In an interview with the media about the outcomes of the interventions, Ms Meri Seidu, the District Director of Health Services, said for the first time in history, the District was receiving a big intervention in the area of health.

She said before 2017 the District could only boast six CHIP Compounds which was a big challenge during the period considering the large population of the area.

Ms Seidu said the health facilities that are placed at the doorsteps of the people in the communities would help accelerate the achievement of the Universal Access to Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly, goal three.

“The community members particularly pregnant women used to trek to far distances such as Bolgatanga, the Regional capital to access health care, but with the provision of the health infrastructure, coupled with the posting of health staff to the facilities, the trend has now positively changed as the community members can now access health care at their doorsteps in their communities”. She stated.

The District Director commended the Assembly for the support and said the Directorate was also happy that the Assembly collaborated effectively with development partners to furnish the facilities, recruited health volunteers as well as provided water facilities to the CHIPS compounds.

Most of the communities visited also acknowledged the support of the Assembly, where some said that for the past decade they had not had portable drinking water which compelled them to compete with animals for water from dams and wells.

The DCE on her part, pointed out that the NPP government led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was very passionate about health and the well-being of the citizenry, especially women and children and explained that this informed the decision of the Assembly to make health care one of its top most priorities.

She called on the community members to bury their political differences and leave in peace and harmony and support the ruling government deliver more on its promises to make life better for them.

Some of the project sites visited included the newly constructed Gunwagre CHPS Compound valued at about GHC 235,000.00 from the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF), the Gane-Asonge CHPS Compound values at about GHC235,000.00 from the DACF, the renovation of 1 No. 4-Unit Nurses Quarters at Sakoti also valued at about GHC165,000.00 from the DACF, the newly completed health theatre as well as some of the borehole sites spread across the Nabdam communities.