Zinye women decry difficulty in accessing antenatal services

Some women at Zinye, a predominantly farming community in the Wa East District, have decried the difficulties they go through to access antenatal care (ANC) and skilled delivery services at health facilities situated in other communities.

They said that apart from having to trek long distances to the other communities with health facilities, their plight was compounded during the rainy season because of a stream that cut the Zinye Community from the nearest health facility at Naasah.

“There are times that you deliver on the way in the hands of a man who is not your husband; that is so embarrassing, and because of that, some of us have decided to stop childbirth,” Mercy Baseonaa, a resident, lamented.

The residents, who made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said they would not participate in this year’s election if nothing was done to provide them with a health facility.

They also raised concerns about the lack of electricity, which was affecting socio-economic activities and the education of the children.

Thomas Piemaaro, a representative of the youth of the community, indicated that they had to trek to other communities before they could charge their mobile phones, while children in the community could not learn at night.

“When a woman is in labour in Zinye, they must carry her on a motorbike to other communities for the person to deliver,” he said.

Naa Abu Adamu, the Chief of the Bugu Community, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs in the Gudaayiri Electoral Area, told GNA that he was disappointed in the political leaders for the lack of development interventions in the area.

He said some communities within the area, including Zinye, were deprived of electricity, leaving the lives of the residents in jeopardy.

“Look at the population of this community and those around here, but we don’t have a health facility. We cannot go to Baayiri in the rainy season because of the stream. We can only go to Naasah, but it is also very far from here,” he said.

“So, we have decided that we will not entertain politicians here, and we will not vote if we don’t get a health facility,” he said.

Ali Dassah, the assembly member, urged the youth to hold firm to their demands from politicians to bring basic social amenities to the area.