Ghanaians Advised To Lead Healthy Lives

Health Minister Courage Quarshigah has called on the public to take preventive health care more serious by adopting lifestyles that would help improve their health status and reduce their expenditure in curative medicine.

He recommended the eating of healthy food, exercising regularly, taking adequate rest and maintaining healthy environment.

Major Quarshigah made the call on Saturday when he cut the sod for the construction of a district hospital at Gushegu in the Northern Region.

The hospital project, estimated at 17 million Euros is being supported with funds from the Dutch Government. It is expected to be completed by February 2008.

The hospital will have an outpatients department, a medical and surgical inpatient care facility with 86 beds, a padiatric ward, a 23-bed standard ward, a maternity ward, an operating theatre and an observation ward.

Major Quarshigah noted that the sole objective of the project was to ensure that the people of the district and its catchments areas have access to quality health care.

He said that improving and expanding health facilities to make health care more accessible to all has always been the priority of the ministry and emphasized that it would do all it can to offer affordable quality health service to all people.

Northern Regional Minister, Mustapha Ali Idris said the commencement of the hospital project in the district showed the government's commitment to making health an important player in the lives of its citizenry.

He therefore appealed to the citizens of the region to help sustain the national health insurance scheme.

To achieve this, Alhaji Idris asked that the registration of people must be pursued in earnest to increase the number of contributors to the scheme.

He indicated his office's readiness to support the project to ensure its early completion saying “I will personally visit and monitor the progress of work regularly.”

Alhaji Idris appealed to the contractors to employ local artisans and also advised those who would be employed to dedicate themselves to their duties.