Nator (UWR), Jan 31, GNA - Dr Erasmus Agongo, Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, has called on communities that have been provided with the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) to take advantage of them to reduce infant and maternal deaths. He said despite progress in the health sector, a high incidence of infant and maternal deaths was still a source of worry to it. Dr Agongo was speaking on Wednesday at the inauguration of a GH=A250,000-Compound built under CHPS for the Nator community in the Nadowli District.

The district assembly built the compound while the community assisted with nurses' accommodation and World Vision International, a social partner, provided furniture, cooking utensils and solar lamps. Dr. Agongo said the CHPS concept was the bedrock of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) strategy adopted to improve access to primary health care services to the communities.

He called on the 11 beneficiary communities of the facility to ensure that children were secured from the nine childhood-killer diseases, as well as reduce maternal deaths to help the GHS to achieve the objectives under the millennium development goal. He urged key stakeholders to play their roles properly to promote health services to create wealth for the people. Madam Rosina Ta-Ang Yenli, Nadowli District Director of Health Services, said 916 minor ailments were treated at the facility. They included antenatal, family planning usages and measles cases, registering 100 per cent coverage from January to December 2007. She said the success or otherwise of the concept depended largely on the role of the community members in ensuring the safety of equipment and that of the health workers.

Mrs Winifred Asibi Dy-Yakah, Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, who inaugurated the compound, said it would help to improve access and equity in the provision of essential health information and packages of services to the people.

She said apart from helping to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases in the communities, the concept was also appropriate in the rural setting where majority of the people resided. She called on health workers to exercise some caution and patience in dealing with their clients, pointing out that their attitude towards the people would determined their patronage at the facilities. Mrs Dy-Yakah bemoaned the low patronage of the National Health Insurance Scheme in the area and appealed to the people to take advantage of it to improve access to health care services. Mr. Alban Bagbin, Member of Parliament of the area, called on the men to encourage their expectant wives and children to attended antenatal services and be immunized against childhood killer diseases to help reduce the high incidence of deaths among them. He appealed to the people to remain united in order to pool resources for development. 31 Jan. 08