Bolgatanga, March 24, GNA - Alhaji Doctor Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, has stated that in spite of the fact that the Upper East Regional Directorate of Health Services faces numerous logistic challenges it is the best practicing health institution in the country.

Alhaji Bin Ibrahim said this when he led a team of health workers from his outfit to the Upper East Region to learn more about how certain health issues that were peculiar to the two Regions were being managed. Interacting with the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Mark Woyongo, the Director cited the Community Health Planning Services Compounds (CHPS) which was initiated by the Upper East Regional Directorate of Health and now being replicated throughout the country.

He also indicated that many health institutions from other African countries, including Nigeria, trouped to the Upper East Region to learn and to replicate the knowledge acquired in their various countries. He mentioned that his outfit had five strategic areas to achieve, which included the training and improvement of staff capacity, motivation, information management and customer care.

Alhaji Bin Ibrahim, indicated that one of the reasons he had brought the team of sectional heads from the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate was to learn from the Upper East and help improve the health situation in the Ashanti Region.

He indicated that the Upper East Regional Health Directorate under the able leadership of Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams, had brought a lot of development and transformation in the Region and the visiting team would be leaning from their hosts during the four-day stay in the Region. The Regional Minister asked the two Regional Health Directorates to collaborate and work as a team to deal with health issues in the country and appealed to the Ashanti Regional Directorate to undertake outreach programmes in health institutions in the Upper East to augment the health needs of the people in the area, adding that the Region lacked doctors especially specialists to handle complicated health issues.

Dr. Awoonor-Williams stated that most health projects which were ongoing in the Region were being supported by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and commended the Council for the assistance. He indicated that currently through the support of the RCC, the Regional Health Directorate was undertaking projects including the provision of a Conference Hall for the Health Directorate and a Poly-clinic for Bolgatanga, the Regional capital.