Sampa (B/A), Sept 21, GNA - Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), the Minister of Health, has appealed to health workers to help educate Ghanaians on the need to promote good health by preventing diseases in their communities.

"It is time for a paradigm shift in our national health policy so that instead of continuing to dwell on the curative aspect of our work, we must ensure that people live in clean surroundings to maintain their good health at all times", he said.

The Minister's message ran though his address to officials and health personnel during a tour of some health institutions in the Brong Ahafo Region.

He visited the Rural Health Training School at Kintampo, the Community Health Nurses Training School at Tanoso in Tano North District, the Regional Hospital in Sunyani, Holy Family Hospital in Techiman, Sampa in Jaman North District and Holy Family Hospital at Berekum.

Maj Quashigah said if Ghanaians were educated to adopt lifestyles that would steer them away from diseases such as as malaria, diarrhoea, guinea worm and others, the government could channel the resources used to import drugs to provide health facilities.

"The government's goal of the country attaining a middle income status would be an illusion if we continue to fall sick, remain weak and waste man hours on excuse duty and funds on transporting the sick to our clinics and hospitals.

"We need to change and help to change the situation whereby we dress nicely and move about whilst our environment remains in filthy conditions and the food we eat prepared in unhygienic surroundings." On conditions of service and incentives for health personnel, Maj Quashigah urged health personnel to accept postings to the rural areas and wondered why even trained personnel who hailed from such places preferred to work only at urban centres, especially the cities.

He said he would ensure that the chunk of incentives for health personnel is sent to those serving in rural areas and he would impress on the Vehicle Allocation Committee of the ministry to give priority to personnel in such places.