Bongo (U/E), Aug 10, GNA - Madam Aileen Carroll, the Canadian Minister of International Co-operation, on Wednesday said the Canadian government would continue to support development projects in Ghana.

"Ghana is one of 25 African countries that Canada has chosen to continue supporting and from what I see of the Canadian funded projects, this country is the best among the others," she said.

Madam Carroll made the statement at Bongo in the Upper East Region when she visited to acquaint herself with Canadian sponsored projects in the area.

At the Bongo District Hospital where she inaugurated a five-ward maternity block, she commended the health personnel for their dedication to work and asked them to keep it up. The Maternity Ward takes 20 beds and was built at the cost of 450 million cedis under the District Wide Assistance Project (DWAP).

Accompanied by Mr Donald Bobiash, the Canadian High Commissioner and the UNICEF representative in Ghana, Madam Dorothy Rozga, and Mad Carroll also visited Gaanadaa near Bongo to interact with mothers and children who are benefiting from the CIDA sponsored Accelerated Child Survival and Development Program.

Dr John Kwesi Marfo, the District Director of Health Services, said the health of children and mothers had improved since 2002 when the Ghana Health Service started implementing the Accelerated Child Survival and Development Programme.

He said infant mortality had reduced by 17 per cent and that there had been no recorded maternal deaths so far this year.

"The quality of antenatal care has improved, postnatal care services coverage has risen from 53 per cent in the first quarter of 2003 to 93.5 per cent for the first quarter of this year and the number of supervised deliveries has increased quite remarkably", he said.

The Minister and her entourage later visited the Single Mothers project at Zuarungu and some farmers at Pwalugu who are supported with credit.