USAID supports 4 Northern regions

To ensure that their various capacities-building programmes yield the desired results, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has presented medical equipment and medicines to health facilities in the four northern regions.

The medicines and facilities worth GH¢12.6 million were presented in Wa in the Upper West Region last Monday to the Upper West, Upper East, North East and Northern regions.

Presenting the medical items, the Director in charge of the Health, Population and Nutrition Office of USAID, Dr Zohra Balsara, said without quality medicines and equipment, building capacities of the staff would yield no proper results.

That was why USAID has decided to donate the items to them to complete the various programmes they started, she said.

She noted that the agency, which has been working in the country since independence, had made various interventions over the years, noting for instance a $140 million financial support given annually to the nation.

Dr Balsara said USAID was very particular about the health needs of the citizens, especially women and children and as such was working with the Ministry of Health to achieve the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 12/1,000 live births neonatal mortality rate.

Receiving the items, the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Damien Punguyire, commended the USAID for once again coming to their aid to strengthen their healthcare system.

He said through various forms of assistance over the years, the capacity of health staff had been built.

The medical equipment and medicines presented

Dr Punguyire expressed his satisfaction with the donation and said it would go a long way to ensure that all the various capacity programmes undertaken yield the required results.

The medical equipment and medicines are paediatric laryngoscopes, pelvic model (Madam Zoe) phototherapy, pulse-oximeter (NICU), urinary catheters, vein detector, and vital signs monitor with paediatric probes.

Others are Ambubag, BP apparatus, delivery beds, face masks, Fetal Doppler, gas cylinders, hand sanitiser, kmc registers for child health and nutrition, stethoscopes, vacuum extractors among others.