Quality health service delivery in the Dormaa Municipality is gradually declining, shifting from the once best district to a low performing status.
This is partially attributed to a number of factors confronting the Municipal Directorate of Health Services and affecting access to primary health care services.
Some of these challenges, according to the health authorities include; lack of vaccines, refrigerators, laboratory services, means of transport for outreach services, investigations, monitoring and supervision, as well as the lack of accommodation for health staff.
Madam Florence Iddrissa, the Dormaa Municipal Health Director said this at a durbar to climax the maiden District Health Campaign organised by the Directorate in collaboration with the Dormaa Municipal Assembly and the Dormaa Traditional Council in Dormaa-Ahenkro.
The objective of the campaign had been necessitated by the fact that child health outcomes in the Municipality are among the poorest in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Madam Iddrissa noted that despite efforts to salvage these negative image of the delivery and performance of the health service of the Municipality "outcomes seems to be moving in a snail pace".
That notwithstanding, she said the directorate had chalked some successes during the past decade, which included the scaling up of CHPs implementation in all 30 electoral areas in the Municipality, reduction of under-five malnutrition to six per cent, increased access to child welfare services in over 68 communities and day care centres, and halving nurse/population ratio from 1:30, 300 to 1:600.
Madam Iddrissa said the performance of the heaslth of the Municipality was disturbing and poor indicating that this had influenced the directorate to set out a plan to begin the campaign to re-focus public attention on life saving child and maternal health interventions.
"Immunisation, use of insecticide treated bed nets, exclusive breastfeeding, growth monitoring and infection prevention, institutional under-five mortality rate of 25 per 1000 live births is double the Brong Ahafo Regional average of 12.5 per cent.
"Immunisation coverage in a three-year trend has stagnated as low as 76.6 per cent as against the national target of 90 per cent. Antenatal coverage is not encouraging at 56.6 per cent compared to the regional coverage of 81.9 per cent. Neonatal and child mortality rates remain significantly high in the Municipality at 17.6 per 1000 live births", she stressed.
Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health emphasised that his Ministry was working out policies adopted globally in promoting preventive health advocacy instead of curative health through the establishment of more CHPs compound in communities in the country.
He said these health facilities were been equipped and resourced with logistical and quality health personnel to provide proper health education and sensitisation to people in mostly deprived communities.
Mr Agyemang-Manu said strategies to improve on the services delivered by the National Health Insurance Scheme were being drawn by the government to make it more responsive to the needs of Ghanaians.
He asked Ghanaians to compliment the effort of government towards the realisation of objectives outlined in the implementation of preventive health by heeding the advice given by medical practitioners.
Mr Tim Agandah Abagre, the Dormaa Municipal Health Campaign Coordinator said the month long district health campaign was preceded by activities to raise awareness about critical child health issues in the Municipality.
They include; quiz competitions for the sub-Municipalities, mothers, food nutrition fair, clean-up campaign in communities and increase awareness on immunisation and Vitamin A supplements.
GNA
