Cabinet has approved the construction of 12,400 housing units across the country for health and education professionals, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister, has announced.

He said the housing units when completed, would be allocated to the beneficiaries to enhance effective service delivery, the minister told members of the Upper West Branch of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association in Wa during this year’s “Nurses Week” celebration on Tuesday.

The celebration was on the theme: “Nurses and Midwives; caring and advocating for a peaceful election 2012”.

Alhaji Sulemana urged the nurses to continue to work hard while the project was being executed, explaining that even though not everybody was going to benefit from the initial number of units to be provided, many of them would be supplied during the subsequent years.

He paid a glowing tribute to members of the association and all other health workers for their dedication and professionalism in helping patients live longer and more productive lives; while government on its part was also addressing issues of quality, accessibility and equity, and bringing hope to the people.

He appealed to nurses to treat their clients humanely, pointing out that in recent times, there had been a pubic outcry about unacceptable treatment some health professionals were meting out to their patients who came to health facilities for medical attention.

Alhaji Sulemana pleaded with nurses to live up to the expectation of their clients by adopting acceptable practices and innovations that would impact positively on health care outcomes.

“Anything short of this will drive patients away to seek healing from non-professionals who should have no business in the health delivery systems”, he said.

Alhaji Sulemana said government was committed to resourcing the Ghana Health Service and expanding facilities in existing institutions as well as providing new institutions in the service delivery and professional training throughout the country.

Those efforts were geared towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals four, five and six which seek to reduce child mortality, improve maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases by the year 2015; and that nurses should not renege on their responsibilities in that regard.

The regional minister called on the management of health institutions to consider upgrading the skills of nurses and midwives to expose them to new techniques and better ways of handling cases.

Alhaji Sulemana urged members of the association to organise processions, street walks and radio discussions, to drum home the need for people in the region and all Ghanaians to appreciate the peace and democratic dispensation in the country.

Similarly, they should also educate their clients to appreciate politics as a platform for trading different and rich ideas for national development and not use it as a spring board for violence.

Alhaji Sulemana called on vibrant associations such as the Ghana Registered Nurses Association and other bodies to get involved in preaching peace to “ touch the soft spots” of potential trouble makers to make the election peaceful.

Madam Catherine Dery, Chairperson of the association, explained that the nursing profession was a healing ministry and urged members to devote much of their time to saving lives of others.

She also appealed to the youth to be patriotic and say no to self seeking politicians who would want to induce them to make trouble during the elections to achieve their parochial interest.**