Ghana Health Service to conduct baseline survey ; Under Northern Rural Growth Programme
The Ghana Health Service is to conduct a baseline health survey to increase awareness of waterborne diseases in northern Ghana under the Northern Rural Growth Programme (NRGP), which is being implemented by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA).
The NRGP is being implemented by the MOFA in 57 districts across the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and parts of the Brong Ahafo regions with the overall objective of achieving sustainable agriculture, rural livelihoods and food security for the rural poor in northern Ghana.
The programme, being funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the Government of Ghana (GOG), entails the construction of small irrigation dams and refrigerated storage facilities.
The GHS is also to carry out awareness creation and sensitisation to the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS; monitor the health situation of people in the programme areas; and provide interventions to mitigate the effects of waterborne diseases.
Health intervention
The health interventions put in place under the programme is to help minimise the environmental, social and health challenges to be caused to the beneficiary communities upon the rehabilitation of irrigation dams and the construction of warehouses and storage facilities.
This came to light at the ceremony to hand over medical supplies in Tamale on Friday to the GHS by MOFA to enable the service to conduct the baseline survey.
Items
The medical supplies handed over to the GHS included three microscopes, 5,000 pieces of blood collection equipment, 3,000 stool containers, 3,000 urine containers, 1,000 pieces of disposable gloves, one million pieces of male and female condoms, 100,000 long-lasting insecticide nets (LLINs), 1,000 mosquito larvicides (repellents) and three laptop computers.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Tamale, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, Dr Alhassan Ahmed Yakubu, said the programme had put in place environmental management plans with the objective of mainstreaming environmental, social and health safeguards into the various rehabilitation and construction works.
Collaboration
He expressed the hope that the collaboration between MOFA and GHS would help mitigate the health concerns of the people in the programme area.
The Head of Neglected Tropical Disease Programme, Dr Benjamin Marfo, who represented the Director of GHS, Dr Appiah Denkyira, spoke of the correlation between the health and agriculture sectors, adding that the well-being of the people in the project area would lead to increase in productivity and help achieve the objectives of the programme.
He said GHS would be guided by the baseline survey to educate the people on the prevention of water-related diseases such as schistosomiasis.
