KOICA gives to Upper East Regional Health Directorate

The Government of Korea, through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), has donated essential medical and non-medical equipment to the Upper East Regional Health Directorate as part of contributions to improve Maternal, Newborn and Child Health care (MNCH) in the Region.

The initiative was part of the KOICA CHPS-Plus project with technical implementation for procurement and logistics by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which is estimated to cost about $9,000,000 for a period of five years.

The items include 2,902 quantities of assorted consumables while the non-medical equipment include bicycles, raincoats, wellington boots, mobile phones, T-shirts, knapsack, torch lights, tricycle ambulances, among others, which would be distributed in phases.

Presenting the items at a brief ceremony, which was witnessed by officials from the Regional Health Directorate and some Community Health Volunteers (CHV), Madam MyeongSeon Kim, the Manager in charge of the KOICA CHPS-Plus Project, said the project was aimed at improving on MNCH through the promotion of community participation, provision of quality Maternal and Child Health services, and strengthening the health care system.

She observed that in spite of the many significant improvements made by various stakeholders to ensure quality MNCH services, there were still reported cases of deaths of mothers and children.

“Every week, I hear sad news that a mother has passed away through pregnancy complications. In order to save them from this painful death, the contribution of each of you as a Community Health Volunteers is very important and precious.”

Madam Kim urged the CHV to continue offering their services and noted that the items were not for their personal use, but to support their activities as volunteers, and cautioned them to return them if they wished to terminate the CHV activities.

Dr Winfred Ofosu, the Upper East Regional Director of Health Services, who received the items on behalf of the Regional Health Directorate and the Ghana Health Service, thanked the government and people of Korea for the gesture, which was part of the KOICA supported CHPS-Plus activities in the Region.

He said the equipment would be utilized at the Districts, Sub-districts and at the community levels where they were most needed and gave the assurance that they would be maintained and used for their intended purposes to strengthen the health care system in the Region.

Mr Francis Adongo, a CHV, expressed gratitude to KOICA and the Regional Health Directorate for the items and said it would facilitate their activities in the communities and ensure that the project was successful.