Upper West health sector performed better despite coronavirus pandemic – Director

The health sector in the Upper West Region performed better in 2020 despite the dire impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dr. Damien Punguyire, the Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, has observed.

He said some indicators such as skilled delivery increased marginally from 70.5 percent to 71.1 percent with institutional Neonatal Mortality Ratio declining from 8.6/1000 live births in 2019 to 7.5/1000 live births in 2020.

Dr. Punguyire made the observation at the opening of the Upper West Regional 2020 annual health sector performance review conference in Wa on Wednesday on the theme:

“The effects of COVID-19 on Healthcare Delivery in the Upper West Region”.

The two-day conference organized by the Regional Health Directorate brought together actors in the health sector including regional and district health staff.

The health sector in the Region recorded 3.5 points in the year 2020 out of a maximum of five points.

“For the foregoing, it is clear that the Region performed well despite the pandemic. However, more work needs to be done to reverse the trend in some of the indicators,” Dr Punguyire said.

He said the Maternal Mortality Ratio for instance increased from 74.8 to 94.7/100,000 live births within the year under review.

The Director noted that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, the health directorate and its partners could implement its planned activities for the year under review, which included demarcation of the Region into 496 Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones, up from 391 CHPS zones in 2019.