Gomoa Tarkwa (C/R), June 27, GNA - The Gomoa District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) Ms. Patricia Antwi has inaugurated Gomoa Tarkwa Zone of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) with a call on communities to get involved in health programmes. Ms. Antwi said it was the effort of the GHS to increase access to health care delivery in the country which gave birth to the CHPS concept.

She said the concept, which aimed at encouraging community involvement and participation in health care programmes should be treated as part of the poverty reduction strategy as poverty could not be reduce without good health of the people.

Ms. Antwi explained that the concept involved appointment of a health committee to have oversight responsibility over the programme, posting of a community health officer (CHO) and assistant to take health service to the people in their homes and recruitment and training of volunteers to assist in the health delivery services. The District Health Director commended the people of Tarkwa for donating a building for the programme, the Danish Embassy and CHPs technical assistant for equipping the building. She appealed for support in compiling a community population and pregnancy registers.

Ms Antwi reminded the key players in the CHPs programme that it was their duty to arrange for vehicles to transport referred clients to a higher health facilities.

She appealed to the people to embrace the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme to enable them to access quality health care treatment when they fell sick.

Mr. Edmund Osei Kwakye, District Disease Control Officer urged the communities to take advantage of the CHPs to prevent communicable diseases.

Mr. Anthony Kwesi Turkson an opinion leader appealed to the CHO and her staff to treat their clients with care and professionalism. Naa Egyir Akomanyi V, Chief of Tarkwa expressed gratitude to the District Director and her staff for the good work they were doing for the people.

Tarkwa Zone comprises three communities, Tarkwa, Tekyiman and Appiakwa-Debiso. The zone brings to CHPs compounds in Gomoa District- Gomoa Fetteh, Gomoa Ngyiresi and Gomoa Potsin.