Community health programme inaugurated at Kulkpong

Kulkpong (UW), Jan. 25, GNA - Madam Crescentia Duopar, Deputy Director of Nursing Service in-charge of Wa, on Friday commissioned a 158 million Community-based Health Planning and Service (CHPS) block at Kulkpong in the newly created Wa East District with a call on the community leaders to co-operate with health personnel to help reduce the high incidence of disease.

She said the community had the key responsibility of supporting the programme through high communal spirit that would encourage health workers in the area.

The block, which has a hall, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, store and toilet is the second to be inaugurated after that of Chausie. Madam Duopar said a nurse in collaboration with village health volunteers would be stationed at the village to give door-to-door services to them and urged them to co-operate with the health team. She urged the nurse and the volunteers to refer cases beyond them to the health centres and hospitals to enable them to take quick action on their ailments.

The Deputy Director said the CHPS programme became necessary because of the vast areas and the lack of adequate health personnel to cover all the areas and expressed the hope that the programme would help reduce the high mortality rate.

Mr. Zakaria Mohammed, Wa Municipal Disease Control Officer expressed regret that attendance at health facilities in the area was reducing annually.

He said immunisation against measles, tuberculosis and deliveries at health centres had reduced drastically from 2003 to 2004 and urged the people to make maximum use of available health facilities in the area.

Mr. Mohammed warned pregnant women against the use of "Mosugu" a local herb, which they believed could facilitate delivery, adding that if they attended antenatal clinic regularly they would not need any local drug.

Madam Grace Baaro, Senior Nurse in-charge of the Loggu Health Centre, which oversees the area, urged them not to resist taking health messages especially the elephantiasis drug, which they claimed made them dizzy and did not allow them to take alcohol.

Mr. Stephen Ziem, a Senior Executive Officer of the Wa Municipal Assembly who represented the Municipal Chief Executive jointly inaugurated a 19-member Village Health Volunteers who would be supporting the nurse in-charge of the CHPS programme.