Review access to quality health care in Upper East Region — Minister designate

The Minister designate for the Upper East Region, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, has underscored the need for access to quality health care to be reviewed in the region. 

He lamented that the ratio of health professionals to patients across districts was abysmal mainly due to doctors and nurses refusing to accept postings and transfers to the region because of its rural nature.

“It is one doctor to 24,124 patients and one nurse to 313 patients. This is very appalling,” he said.

Appearing before the Appointments Committee last Monday for his vetting, he said if given the nod, he would remedy the situation by lobbying to put in place specialised packages for healthcare workers to serve as an incentive and attract more professionals to the region.

In addition, he said he would work with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to create a sponsorship programme for interested residents and natives of the region to pursue education in various healthcare areas which would ultimately improve healthcare services.

“It is common knowledge that people brought up in urban areas find it difficult to accept postings to rural communities.

So when we sponsor our own to become doctors and you’re put back in your own place, you cannot describe it as rural so you want to go to urban and once you’re accustomed to the conditions there, the likelihood of you staying is almost 90 per cent than somebody moving from an urban area,” he explained.

Furthermore, Mr Atanga stressed that health facilities must be brought up to standard and stocked with the requisite medical equipment and medications to ensure that health professionals can deliver on their mandates to provide quality care.

“Sometimes they don’t want to come because some of the facilities are not there which makes the job difficult. They don’t want to associate themselves with people dying and all that,” he added. 

Conflicts

When the committee asked how he planned to resolve the Bawku conflict, Mr Atanga said he would liaise with all parties involved and the security agencies to reach a compromise and long-lasting peace following the steps of President John Dramani Mahama who had already had engagements with the leaders of the warring factions.

“The Bawku conflict is an old one and it is not easy for one to sit at a table and say you can end it.

But you must take certain steps and those have already been taken by the President and there’s a certain roadmap he has drawn so what I’ll do is rely on it and engage the regional security agencies to find out where they are and how we can deploy measures to solve the matter,” he said. 

He maintained that he would employ similar strategies focused on conflict prevention and dialogue to curb simmering tensions between other groups in the country adding; “there is no winner in a war.”

Transportation

Mr Atanga, who is the Regional Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress, was passionate about transportation, particularly the provision of a suitable airport and good roads to “open up the region.”

He emphasised that not only would they promote economic activities by linking farms to markets and cutting down travel time but they would also promote tourism as more people would be keen on visiting the region if they were easily linked to tourist destinations.

Mr Atanga, therefore, pledged to pay critical attention to the development of existing roads by engaging the relevant ministry and agencies.

“The airport in the Upper East Region is dear to all of us and under President Mahama’s first term, some initial work was done but it got stuck probably due to funding. So during the campaign, he assured us that it would be one of the major programmes he would do.”

“So I’ll only have to follow up and ensure that the project takes off to lessen the burden of the people and open up the region,” he said.