Kumbungu (N/R), Aug. 10, GNA - The Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS), an NGO has appealed to the government to rehabilitate roads in the eastern corridor of the Northern Region to enable NGOs to render humanitarian services to the people in those communities.

The NGO noted that, roads in the Saboba-Chereponi, Zabzugu/Tatale, Nanumba, Salaga, East Mamprusi and the newly created Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo districts were in such deplorable conditions that they needed urgent rehabilitation to ease movement of goods and people to the regional capital.

Mr Martin Alfa, Senior Programme Officer of AGREDS made the appeal at a closing session of a four-day workshop on HIV/AIDS, peace building and conflict transformation at Kumbungu in the Tolon/Kumbungu District on Monday.

The workshop formed part of the church's HIV/AIDS strategic focus aimed at building the capacity of the pastors to support the fight against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as peace building and conflict transformation and prevention.

The participants treated topics on peace building, better understanding of the dynamics of conflicts, HIV/AIDS and how these fit into the mission of the church.

Mr Alfa said the recent heavy rains had rendered most of the roads almost impassable, adding, "AGREDS has most of its projects located in the north-eastern corridor from Bimbilla to East Mamprusi where there is not a single kilometre of tarred road in the entire area."

He said AGREDS and other NGOs operating in the eastern corridor were reaching out to the people where it was difficult for the government agencies to reach to build clinics and schools to alleviate the plight of the communities.

The Church, he said, built two hospitals at Saboba and Nakpanduri in the 1950s and AGREDS in partnership with the World Service Enterprise (WSE), based in the Netherlands and had started the construction of two more clinics at Kuntumbiyilli in the Zabzugu/Tatale District and Dakpam in the Nanumba District.

Mr Alfa said it was the policy of the Church to provide infrastructure for needy communities, noting, however, that the management of these projects was becoming difficult because of the withdrawal of donors support.

He said his NGO had been struggling to finance the Yendi Girls Vocational Institute and called on the Church to contribute financially towards the management of these facilities.