72nd New Year School: Government urged to establish a health infrastructure fund

Government has been urged to establish a health and infrastructure fund through which resources could be dedicated to tackling the current inadequate health infrastructure in the country.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the two-day Annual New Year School and Conference held on Wednesday, January 20, 2020, at the University of Ghana, Legon.

The communique produced by the participants of the conference and read by Dr Inusah Salifu of the Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies, University of Ghana advised the government to use the fund to create more laboratories, isolation and treatment centres, infectious disease control units and public health facilities across the country.

It also suggested ways to improve the economy, education and agricultural production systems.

Public Health

The communique mentioned there was currently "inadequate resource for funding health infrastructure coupled with ineffective citizenship education on preventive health care.

It also urged state agencies such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Information Services Department to carry out regular health sensitization programmes in communities across the country.

"Citizenship education on preventive health care in Ghana is ineffective. Based on this situation, it is recommended that the citizenry should be given the needed education to create more awareness on preventive health care. State agencies such as the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Information Services Department should carry out regular sensitisation programmes in every community," Dr Inusah said.

He also mentioned that there was a need for the Ministry of Health to establish more critical nursing training schools to meet the demand for the increasing demand for their services across the country.

He said: "Critical health nurses are woefully inadequate in some districts and regional hospitals and other health centres. Therefore, the Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, should establish more critical nurses training schools to churn out critical nurses enough for all the sixteen regions of the country".

He also called for greater collaboration between the Ministries of Education and Health to ensure the urgent extension of water supply to all health facilities and educational institutions across the country.