About 18 health personnel in the Obuasi East District in the Ashanti Region have been honoured by the government for their immense contributions to the country's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Known as “The Presidential Awards,” each of the awardees received certificate of recognition signed by the President.

It was initiated by President Akufo-Addo to acknowledge the exceptional role of frontline health workers who dedicated themselves to their work and rendered invaluable services during the pandemic.

The beneficiaries who are nurses, midwives, doctors, etc, were among the 19,557 nominees selected for the awards across the 16 regions of the country through the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

Speaking with the media after presenting the awards on behalf of the President, the Chief Executive for the Obuasi East District, Faustina Amissah said the role of frontline workers especially health personnel during the COVID-19 outbreak should not be taken for granted.

She said the presidential awards for frontline workers was appropriate and demonstrates government's appreciation to the workers for their dedication to duty during the pandemic.

"The resistance the health workers faced in even identifying affected persons to be isolated and locating isolation centers was a herculean task. I believe this will motivate the rest to also put in much efforts to deliver quality healthcare to the people", she said.

She again reiterated that the outbreak of COVID-19 has taught Ghanaians how to prepare adequately for unforeseen contingencies including pandemics. She said the health workers in the district have been trained and equipped with the skills on pandemic preparedness.

Faustina Amissah was certain that such situations would be effectively dealt with by the health directorate in the Obuasi East District.

She further assured that that the assembly was prepared to support the health directorate to make sure health workers perform their duties optimally.

Health director bemoaned exodus of health workers

Ghana is facing a severe shortage of nurses as many of them are leaving the country for better paid jobs in high-income countries like the UK and the US.

At the awards ceremony which also coincided with the mid-year health review of the district, the Obuasi East district health director, Delphine Gborgblorvor bemoaned the increasing rate at which nurses and health workers in general are leaving the country in search of greener pastures.

She said the phenomenon has greatly affected nurses to patient ratio and also increased the work load on the already existing health workers.

She said though it was difficult to stop health workers from traveling since they mostly follow due processes, she appealed to the government as a matter of urgency recruit nurses into the system to fill the void left by the traveling workers.

On issues of maternal mortality, Delphine Gborgblorvor said per their indicators, maternal mortality rate has gone down as compared to figures from last year.

She said increasing home visits which the directorate collaborated with the Member of Parliament, Patrick Boakye Yiadom who bought home visits bags and packages for workers, has aided the improvement in maternal mortality situation in the district.

She lauded the President for instituting the awards scheme for the COVID-19 frontline workers for their hardwork and diligence during the outbreak of the disease.

She was of the view that the award will spur the workers on, to continue to work hard and deliver on their mandate.