The district currently has an estimated population of 77,265, who depend on a health centre  at Busunya with inadequate structures and facilities including 16 CHPS compounds, and 137 health staff, to provide health services to residents.

The situation, according to health authorities, has compelled them to resort to referring their patients to other health facilities in Techiman and Kintampo, which comes at a huge cost to both the health centre and patients.

The authorities are therefore making a passionate appeal to government, donor agencies, philanthropists and traditional authorities in the area, to and come to their aid in order to prevent the needless deaths recorded due to the lack of a referral facility in the district.

The situation was revealed on Tuesday by the District Director of Health Services, Thomas Derry, when the district took its turn in a nationwide series of Town Hall Meetings organized by the Ministry of Information in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

The Town Hall Concept, an initiative of the two ministries, is to offer residents the platform to interact with government functionaries and duty bearers at the local level, and seek answers to issues of national importance on their minds.

It also afforded residents the opportunity to know about government policies and programmes, and their implementation in the district to generate the necessary feedback for fine-tuning policies to achieve its stated objectives as well as enhance good governance and social accountability.

He said in the midst of all these challenges, the directorate was collaborating with the Assembly and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to undertake the monitoring and supervision of Girl Iron Folic Tablets Supplementation Programme in Schools and Communities, as well as the GIFTS Programme, a nationwide intervention to reduce anaemia among female adolescents in the district.

Mr. Dery noted the high incidence of malaria, inadequate staff, inadequate equipment, poor road network, the high number of home deliveries and inadequate office and staff accommodation as the major challenges affecting health care delivery in the area.

The District Chief Executive (DCE), Gifty Akosa Arthur, in address observed that the programme was timely as Ghanaians were yearning for the government to account to them, and reiterated her commitment to promote the interest and welfare of residents.

She pledged to ensure value for money for all abandoned projects inherited, and has thus suspended the implementation and execution of new projects for the year.

She noted that the Assembly will be guided in its execution of projects by the Medium Term Plan, and the Annual Action Plan, which has taken into consideration the views of residents at a needs assessment session in the communities.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Information Officer, Imoro Ayibani, said the initiative by the Information Ministry offers an opportunity for residents to seek clarification on government policies and programmes being implemented in the districts.

He therefore appealed to them to ask all questions and provide suggestions to enable government fine-tune and take corrective measures of its programmes for the benefit of Ghanaians.

He emphasized the concept will be replicated all districts in the country, as a way of enhancing good governance and strengthen social auditing and accountability.

Participants during an open forum asked questions on Education, Health, Good Governance, Rural Development and initiatives from government to improve their standard of living.

The programme was chaired by Bontehene, Nana Krobea Asante Sarpong, who strongly supported the call for the construction of a District Hospital for the area.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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