Thirteen communities get CHPS compound at Asafora

A Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compound and nurses quarters have been inaugurated at Asafora to serve more than 13 deprived rural communities in the Mfantsiman Municipality of the Central Region.

The project, built at the cost of 77,218 dollars, was jointly funded by the Japanese Government, the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly and The Hunger Project (THP), a Non-governmental Organisation, which was also the implementing partner.

The Asafora Community provided land and communal labour together with the beneficiary communities including Fomena, Gyakoma, Waakrom, Egyirfa, Nsaano and Amissakrom.

It formed part of initiatives geared towards providing the more than 5,000 inhabitants with prompt and accessible quality healthcare delivery.

It has a Clinic, an Out Patients Department (OPD), a Delivery Room, Pharmacy, Maternity and Family Planning Unit and a four-bedroom apartment for the three nurses and one midwife.

The centre also took delivery of quantities of delivery-beds, delivery sets, vaccines refrigerator, Kick buckets and other medical consumables.

Addressing a durbar of chiefs and people to commission the facility, Mr Karoru Yoshimura, the Japan Embassador to Ghana, praised the people of Ghana and Japan for maintaining 60 years of strong bilateral relations to, among other things, boost trade and investments.

He commended all the partners for working hard to ensure the vision of bringing health care to the door-steps of the people materialises.

He pledged the continued support of the Japanese Government to strengthening trade and investment to deepen the economic ties between the two countries.

Mr Samuel Afranie, the Country Director of The Hunger Project-Ghana, said the inauguration of the centre would help end the situation where the sick in the predominantly remote farming communities had to travel long distances to seek medical treatment.

The NGO, he noted, was committed to providing key social interventions in deprived communities to raise the living standards of the people and encouraged them, particularly pregnant women, to patronise the facility to prevent maternal deaths.

Mr Afranie pledged to work together with the Health Ministry to adequately equip the CHPS Compound for efficient combating of common health problems such as malaria, worm infestation, skin diseases, diarrhea, cough and urinary tract infections.

He thanked the Ghana Health Service for posting nurses and a midwife to help take care of pregnant and nursing mothers to reduce infant and maternal mortality.

Mr Kenneth Kelly Essuman, the Municipal Chief Executive, expressed the Assembly's commitment to ensuring regular maintenance of the building.

He commended Hunger Project-Ghana and other collaborators for the immense impact they continued to make on the lives of the people and urged organisations seeking to implement development projects to contact the Assembly.

Mrs Georgina Graham-Hayfron, the Municipal Director of Health Services, said she was excited that the project had been successfully completed and assured of professional services from the health personnel.

She gave the assurance that the facility would render a 24-hour health service to the people within the community and its surrounding towns.