Community participation vital for efficient health delivery - GHS

Kumasi, April 17, GNA - Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, the Director - General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has called for effective community participation in the health delivery system to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He said more could be achieved in health delivery if communities were encouraged to provide at least a vehicle to transport women in labour to health facilities.

Dr Appiah-Denkyira, speaking at a five-day annual performance review meeting of the Family Health Division of the Regional Health Directorate in Kumasi, said the service would not achieve much if the people did not participate.

The meeting was on the theme: 'Attaining the Health Related MDGs - The Journey So Far.'

It was aimed at sharing best practices, learn lessons, set targets and draw plans to strengthen performance of stakeholders.

Dr Appiah-Denkyira spoke of the need for tracking pregnant women and their babies in all the 216 districts, work as a team and also create seamless services with all stakeholders to achieve the MDGs in health.

He advised health workers to make the facilities user-friendly at all levels.

He said efforts should be made to improve on data and information systems, adding that they should take advantage of training programmes to improve on their performance.

Dr Alexis Nang-Beifubah, the Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services, said the directorate would continue to work for the health of the people in-spite of the many difficulties it faced in the discharge of its duties.

GNA