Govt to ensure adequate resources to health practitioners

Apam, May 18, GNA - Mr Isaac Edumadze, the Central Regional Minister, has said the government was committed to ensure that adequate resources are made available to health practitioners since that was one of the ways quality health delivery could be guaranteed to the people. Mr Edumadze said this when launching the Central Regional Nurses Week Celebration at Apam on Tuesday.

The theme for the celebration is "Nurses for Patient safety; Targeting counterfeits and sub-standard medicines".

The Regional Minister said the government was convinced that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) would enable Ghanaians to have easy access to good quality drugs.

Mr Edumadze told nurses that they have a key role to play educating the public about the dangers of buying medicines on the streets from unauthorized sources.

He said the fight against counterfeit and sub-standard medicines should not be for only the health practitioners.

"We are all at risk and should joint in the crusade of weeding out counterfeit drugs from our communities".

The Regional Minister urged the public to report the activities of dealers of counterfeit drugs to the relevant security agencies. Miss Yvonne Graham-Hayfron, the Central Regional chairman of the Ghana Registered Nurse Association, said a World Health Organization reports indicated that in 1992, 233 Bngladeshi children died after taking paracetamol based syrup that was tainted with antifreeze. Dr Aaron Offei, the Central Regional Director of Health Services, expressed regret that if fake drugs could be sold in cities then the situation in the rural area could be worse.

He appealed to the government and the security agencies to help minimize the situation.

In 1995, 2,500 children in Niger died after taking a fake meningitis vaccination.