Project to improve healthcare in north

A project to train health volunteers to register residents of four districts in the Northern Region for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as well as impress on them to patronize the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds.

Communities in the West Gonja, Central Gonja, Bole and Sawla, Tuna Kalba are to benefit from the two-year project dubbed: “Western Corridor Improved Health Insurance and Healthcare Delivery.”

The Coalition for Development of Western Corridor of Northern Region (NORTHCODE), which is an alliance of five non-governmental organizations (NGOs), committed to improving the welfare of the poor, vulnerable and marginalized people of the region, is implementing the project with funding from STAR-Ghana, a multi donor pooled funding agency.

The NGOs include Center for Women Opportunities (CENWOPP), Kachito Community Development Centre, Tuna Women Development Programme and Partners in Participatory Development.

Speaking at the opening of the training workshop for volunteers at Damongo in the West Gonja District over the weekend, Dr Chrysantus Kubio, West Gonja District Director of the Ghana Health Service, said the initiative would help to improve healthcare delivery in the area.

Dr Kubio said CHPS compounds had become useful in the fight against maternal and under-five deaths.

He said some people in the districts rushed to the district hospitals with minor medical conditions, which could have been handled by the CHPS Compound s, a situation which led to congestion at the district hospitals.

Dr Kubio said: “This is why this initiative to encourage patronage of CHPS Compounds at the districts as the first port of call is commendable.”

He said for the past one-and- a-half years, the district had not recorded maternal or infant mortality.

Dr Kubio said that malaria cases had gone up because of non-use of treated mosquito nets, which had been supplied to the people.

John Kipo Kaara, West Gonja District Manager of NHIS, said more than 70 per cent of the residents had access to health insurance but the number of people who renewed their health insurance was low.

Mr Cletus Zume, acting Coordinator of NORTHCODE, a non-governmental organization, said the project hoped to train about 200 health insurance volunteers and district health management team volunteers.

Mr Zume, who is also the Executive Director of CENWOPP, entreated the trainees to register all people without discrimination.

He told the trainees that “You will be expected to keep proper records of registration and renewals because we will be using that information to pay your commission.”