Janga (NR), March 9, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government would this year extend electricity to 500 new communities as part of the 93Better Ghana" agenda. He said government had also embarked on a robust health infrastructure programme to eliminate the high rate of child and maternal mortality in the country.

Vice president Mahama announced this when he symbolically inaugurated five district Polyclinics at Janga in the Northern Region. The Janga Polyclinic and four others at Karaga, Kpandai, Tatale and Cheriponi which were funded by an Austrian loan facility totalling 7.6 million Euros, each have staff rooms, administration, pharmacy and dispensary, hall and waiting area, laboratory, store rooms and janitor among other departments.

Vice President Mahama said the construction of the facilities were part of government's plans to eradicate and eliminate all communicable and non-communicable diseases in the coming years and appealed to the recipient communities to cooperate with health providers to make maximum use of the facilities.

He said the extension of electricity to the new communities in the country would also help propel the country's industrial programme and further speed up development in the rural communities.

The Vice President also announced that government would provide adequate incentives to encourage doctors and other health workers to accept postings to the rural areas of the country and appealed to them to exercise restraint as those incentives were worked out. Mr. Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister of Health, appealed to Ghanaians to avoid the excessive intake of alcohol and cigarettes as that could be detrimental to their health and reduce national productivity. He appealed to health workers to be polite to their patients as that could speed up their recovery in the facilities facilities. Mr Moses Bukari Mabengba, Northern Regional Minister said government was constructing an 80-bed ultra modern hospital at Salaga in the East Gonja District, while community clinics were also being constructed in some communities of the region.

He said guinea-worm disease was being eradicated in the country as only eight cases were recorded between January and December last year, adding 93between June last year and February this year no new case has been recorded."