Tamale, April 15, GNA - The government is within reach of securing a 30- million-euro funding for the establishment of a Police Hospital in Tamale, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister has announced

Additionally, he said, the government had obtained funds to complete all the components of the rehabilitation of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Alhaji Idris was speaking at a send-off dinner-dance for Dr Elias Kavenah Sory, out-going Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Tamale at the weekend. The Northern Regional Directorate of Health organised the send-off for Dr Sory who has been appointed as the new Director-General of the GHS.

Alhaji Idris further announced government's plans to expand the Yendi Hospital to cater for the health needs of the communities within its large catchment area, adding that Yendi had also been earmarked to be elevated to the status of a municipality.

In a citation read on his behalf, the Regional Minister commended Dr Sory for his dedicated service to the health sector. The citation noted that Dr Sory had worked extensively at both the district and regional levels and actively participated in the health sector reform, which had resulted in the establishment of the GHS. It said of Dr Sory: "You have always aspired to offer quality leadership by example, which has yielded fruitful results to your person and to the Ghana Health Service in general". Dr Sory on his part, noted with regret that although there were many qualified personnel of Northern origin, a good number of them had refused posting to the North, an area considered as one of the most deprived in the country.

He urged both public and civil servants to accept posting to any part of the country to contribute positively to national development. Dr Sory who served five years as the Northern Regional Director of the GHS, encouraged Ghanaians to recognise the contribution of every member in the work chain to motivate workers to give of their best. Dr Kyei-Faried, Acting Northern Regional Director of the GHS, called for effective collaboration between the district assemblies and the health institutions to maintain a sound environmental sanitation to stem the spread of preventable diseases such as malaria and cholera. 15 April 07