MORE VEHICLES FOR HEALTH
MORE VEHICLES FOR HEALTH July 02, 2010
BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
The Health sector in the Upper East region has been given a boost in the area of transport. The regional health directorate on Thursday presented 21 four-wheel drive Wingle pick-up vehicles and nine tri-cars to some hospitals, clinics and health centres to assist in their daily schedules in the discharge of health services. Beneficiaries of the vehicles also included health facilities under the Christian Health Association of Ghana and health training institutions.
Upper East regional health director, Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams in an address said 33 per cent of the vehicles have been earmarked for the sub-districts because his office considers them as the pivot of the health delivery system where major health needs exist. He added that the region has the highest number of such vehicles bought on hire purchase and this indicates the commitment of the Ghana Health Service to use available resources to induce high impact in health interventions leading to the achievement of the health millennium development goals.
Dr. Awoonor-Williams told the recipient health authorities that the pick-up vehicles, each valued at 36,000 Ghana Cedis are to be repaid in a period of 24 months from their internally generated funds. The doctor noted that the hire purchase facility is an initiative by the Ghana Health Service to ensure the full implementation of its transport policy in the attainment of set goals on health.
He said the nine tri-cars forming part of the fleet will help improve community transport and referral system in the rural areas as well as help in disseminating health education messages to the public as these have horn speakers mounted on them.
According to him, the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service with support from DANIDA, an NGO have since the 1990s, introduced the health sector transport reforms with remarkable improvements in health indicators. For instance, the availability of motor bikes and other vehicles at the sub-district health facilities with rider training has tremendously improved community and household access to quality health services delivered by community health officers [CHOs].
In the Upper East for example, the CHOs and midwives have helped to increase supervised deliveries from 47 per cent in 2007 to 52 per cent in 2009. Dr. Awoonor-Williams therefore called on users of the vehicles to maintain a culture of regular maintenance while urging budget management centres of the health service to monitor the facility repayment process to ensure full loan repayment on schedule.
The regional minister for Upper East, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo who commissioned the vehicles on behalf of the health ministry, warned that sanctions will be leveled against officers found to have mismanaged or diverted the vehicles to other uses outside the circles of health work. He also called for embossment of reachable office phone numbers on the vehicles to give the public an opportunity to call health authorities with information regarding reckless driving and wrongful use of office vehicles.
BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM
ISD-BOLGATANGA MUNICIPAL
The Health sector in the Upper East region has been given a boost in the area of transport. The regional health directorate on Thursday presented 21 four-wheel drive Wingle pick-up vehicles and nine tri-cars to some hospitals, clinics and health centres to assist in their daily schedules in the discharge of health services. Beneficiaries of the vehicles also included health facilities under the Christian Health Association of Ghana and health training institutions.
Upper East regional health director, Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams in an address said 33 per cent of the vehicles have been earmarked for the sub-districts because his office considers them as the pivot of the health delivery system where major health needs exist. He added that the region has the highest number of such vehicles bought on hire purchase and this indicates the commitment of the Ghana Health Service to use available resources to induce high impact in health interventions leading to the achievement of the health millennium development goals.
Dr. Awoonor-Williams told the recipient health authorities that the pick-up vehicles, each valued at 36,000 Ghana Cedis are to be repaid in a period of 24 months from their internally generated funds. The doctor noted that the hire purchase facility is an initiative by the Ghana Health Service to ensure the full implementation of its transport policy in the attainment of set goals on health.
He said the nine tri-cars forming part of the fleet will help improve community transport and referral system in the rural areas as well as help in disseminating health education messages to the public as these have horn speakers mounted on them.
According to him, the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service with support from DANIDA, an NGO have since the 1990s, introduced the health sector transport reforms with remarkable improvements in health indicators. For instance, the availability of motor bikes and other vehicles at the sub-district health facilities with rider training has tremendously improved community and household access to quality health services delivered by community health officers [CHOs].
In the Upper East for example, the CHOs and midwives have helped to increase supervised deliveries from 47 per cent in 2007 to 52 per cent in 2009. Dr. Awoonor-Williams therefore called on users of the vehicles to maintain a culture of regular maintenance while urging budget management centres of the health service to monitor the facility repayment process to ensure full loan repayment on schedule.
The regional minister for Upper East, Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo who commissioned the vehicles on behalf of the health ministry, warned that sanctions will be leveled against officers found to have mismanaged or diverted the vehicles to other uses outside the circles of health work. He also called for embossment of reachable office phone numbers on the vehicles to give the public an opportunity to call health authorities with information regarding reckless driving and wrongful use of office vehicles.
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