Stakeholders hail Socioserve - Ghana for MOCAMI project

Koforidua, May 6, GNA - Stakeholders involving traditional leaders, members of parliament (MP), community members and health officers, showered praises on Socioserve-Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), for implementing an intervention to improve maternal health.

The project dubbed: 'Mobilising Community Action towards Maternal Health Improvement (MOCAMI).'

The project, which aimed at equipping community members to demand for accountability and to increase responsiveness from health service providers within project districts in the Eastern Region on maternal health delivery, ended up exceeding the stakeholders' expectations.

The MOCAMI project had contributed in reducing maternal mortality from 166 in 2012 to 113 in 2014.

The Birim Central Municipality for instance, recorded no maternal mortality for 2014 while Lower Manya Krobo which recorded seven maternal deaths in 2013 reduced to two in 2014.

Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong, Deputy Regional Minister in a speech read on her behalf at the MOCAMI close-out meeting with stakeholders in Koforidua, applauded Socioserve-Ghana for a good work done.

She admired how the MOCAMI project inspired communities including political actors to address maternal health.

The Deputy Regional Minister however expressed worry how such a very timely and beneficial project only had a lifespan of two years, adding that, the project needed to be expanded to other communities in the region.

Ms Ama Frimpong pledged the support of the Regional Coordinating Council to help the NGO to woo the donors to revive support in expanding the MOCAMI project.

She also appealed to community members and opinion leaders as well as the health officers to endeavour to sustain the project.

Nana Oduro Kwarteng, Chief of Anweam in the Kwaebibirem District said through advocacy of the project , community leaders and members were able to raise GH¢ 7,000.00 to renovate a Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) centre at Anweam.

Nana Kwarteng pledged to work hard at maintaining the communal spirit of his people through the inspiration from Socioserve-Ghana to continue to contribute towards maternal health improvement at Anweam.

Mr William Agyapong Quaittoo, MP for Oda and Mr Okletey Terlabi, MP for Lower Manya Krobo said the MOCAMI project had inspired them to channel some of their personal and common funds to construct CHPS centres, provide electricity and potable water to some health centres in their respective constituencies.

Mr Kwaittoo posited that, two years of such impactful project was not enough and therefore appealed to Star-Ghana and its donors to support the NGO once again to continue with the project and expand.

Mrs Josephine Sackey, the Chief Executive Officer of Socioserve-Ghana thanked all stakeholders for their immense support in making the project a success.

'We believed in teaching community members how to fish than giving them the fish; I know the project will be sustained because we were able to get the people to act for themselves,' she expressed.

Socioserve-Ghana, in partnership with Rite fm, a radio station based in Somaya, implemented the MOCAMI project, supported by Star-Ghana with funding from United Kingdom AID, USAID, European Union and Danish Development

GNA