Health Committee Chairman calls for inter-sectorial collaboration

Rudolf Nsorwinne Amenga-Etego, the Chairman of the Upper East Regional Health Committee, has called for inter-sectorial collaboration to mitigate preventable health conditions in the Region.

He expressed concern about the rising cases of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Region and stressed the need for lifestyle change among residents, and effective collaboration between the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and critical State agencies to minimise or prevent harmful lifestyle and environmental activities such as illegal mining.

He noted that diabetes, hypertension, and kidney diseases, which are prevalent in the Region, are lifestyle and environmental-related conditions and insisted that “We need to have an inter-sectoral and inter-agency collaboration, to help mine responsibly to ensure that our water bodies are safe,” he said.

Mr Amenga-Etego, a Lawyer by profession, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the Regional Health Committee was inaugurated to support the GHS in improving service delivery in the Region.

Apart from the Chairman, members of the newly inaugurated Committee included Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Regional Director of the GHS, Alhaji Mohammed Issahaku, a Coordinating Director at the Regional Coordinating Council, and Dr Joseph Kojo Tambil, a representative from the Regional Hospital.

The rest are Sheikh Abubakar Sadiq Abdul-Rahman and Reverend Thomas Abukari, the Muslim and Christian Representatives respectively, Naba Bugum Zoti Samiisiga Malitinga Akwara III, a representative from the Regional House of Chiefs, and Dr Abdul-Razak Dokurugu, a former Deputy Director of the GHS in charge of Clinical Care.

The remaining were Madam Vida Atepoka Abaseka, a former Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, and Razak Zongabon Abdul-Korah, the Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service, and Mr Lawal Alhassan, the Bolgatanga Municipal Director of the GHS, who are both ex officio members.

Mr Paschal Dongzuing, the Deputy Regional Director of Administration

of the GHS was also sworn in as Secretary to the Committee.

Mr Amenga-Etego said he once attended a conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and a presentation disclosed that the Region recorded 611 mental health cases in the first quarter of 2025, and between 350 to 450 diabetes cases annually, saying, “That tells us that something is happening to the youth.

He said, “Maybe the consumption of narcotics is increasing, and that emphasises the fact that we need to collaborate with the Narcotic Control Commission and other State agencies.

“This is because when these things reduce, it reduces the disease burden and makes our work easier as a health Service,” he said.

Mr Amenga-Etego said plans were underway to ensure all 15 Municipal and District Committees were inaugurated and urged the respective Municipalities and Districts to speed up the formation of their committees.

Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Regional Director of the GHS, who addressed participants at the inauguration ceremony, noted that there was a significant improvement in the availability of health service commodities, including medicines, across facilities in the Region.

He said Mr Donatus Akamugri Atanga, the Upper East Regional Minister, was in collaboration with the management of the Regional Health Directorate to further improve access to healthcare facilities through the construction of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds across the Region.

He said the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GHS to train specialists in the Region, and that the role of the Region to facilitate the process was to provide suitable accommodation for visiting Consultants from the Teaching Hospitals.

Dr Abubakari called on the Minister to support renovating at least two or three bungalows to modern standards to accommodate visiting Consultants, saying, “That will be better than accommodating them in hotels.”

Mr Atanga, in response to the Director’s call, acknowledged the accommodation challenges in the health sector and said plans were underway to address them to attract more healthcare professionals, especially doctors, to the region.