NGO builds nurses’ quarters for Sutapong CHPS Compound
The Japanese Organisation for International Cooperation for Family Planning (JOICFP), with support and funding from Shionogi and Company Limited, a Japanese company, has built a three-bedroom accommodation with modern facilities for the Sutapong CHPS Compound staff in the Upper Manya Krobo District in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The project is to help improve the quality and accessibility of maternal and child healthcare (MHCH) in the Upper Manya Krobo District.
The Programme Officer of JOICFP, Ryoko Ward, at the commissioning, said that through the work of JOICFP and discussions with the District Health Authority (DHA) and the community, one challenge became clear: that there was a serious shortage of healthcare workers and healthcare facilities, especially in the rural communities in the district, including the beneficiary communities.
Collaboration
The Country Director of JOICFP, Emmanuel Obeng, expressed his appreciation to the Upper Manya Krobo District Health Authority, the sub-district leadership of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the healthcare professional team and others for their collaboration and partnership.
The three-bedroom nurses’ quarters
“This building represents what we can achieve when we work together with a shared purpose, ensuring safe deliveries and better child health for the beneficiary communities,” Mr Obeng emphasised.
The Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr Damien Punguyiri, on behalf of the regional and district health management, thanked the benefactors for their kindness and generosity.
He entreated his healthcare workers in the facility to make sure it was maintained to serve many staff who would be posted to the facility.
Infrastructure deficit
Earlier in a welcome address, the Upper Manya Krobo District Director of Ghana Health Service, Abdul Aziz Abdulai, said there was a significant infrastructure deficit in the district, with regard to health facilities.
He explained that out of 33 electoral areas, which have 33 demarcated CHPS zones, only 16 have CHPS Compounds, with 17 temporary structures, some operating in homes and shops donated by individuals, which, he said, did not promote effective healthcare delivery in such areas.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Upper Manya Krobo, Emmanuel Kwesi Lawer, lauded JOICFP and its partners for the project and pledged the assembly’s support to extend electricity to the facility to enhance security.
The leader of Sutapong, Dadematse Sromeni Narh-Korli, who chaired the programme, gave an assurance that the leadership of the beneficiary communities would also play their role by maintaining the facilities as part of their contribution to the project.
