Chief Nat Nsarko (in a hat) presenting the items to Dr Aboagye
The Ashanti Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has taken delivery of $160,000 worth of medicines and other non-drug logistics to help strengthen the community-based health planning and services (CHPS) programme.
Millennium Promise Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), donated the drugs and the logistics for distribution to 36 CHPS zones in seven community health worker (CHW) demonstration districts across the region.
The beneficiary districts are Sekyere Kumawu, Bosome Freho, Amansie West, Amansie Central, Sekyere Central, Ejura-Sekyeredumase and Asokore-Mampong.
The Country Director of Millennium Promise Ghana, Chief Nat Nsarko, said the donation, which was made possible with funding support from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is in line with Millennium Promise Ghana’s ‘one million community health worker’ campaign project as part of its contribution towards the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
According to him, the medicines include 50,000 malaria RDTs, 100,000 sachets of ORS, 500 packets of zinc tablets, 25,000 tablets of Albendazole and 4,800 bottles amoxicillin suspension.
CHPS is being used by GHS to render basic health services to inhabitants at community and household levels across the country.
Chief Nsarko added that the ‘one million community health worker campaign’ project has worked with the GHS and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to recruit, train, equip and deploy community health workers over the years to strengthen the home visitation component of the CHPS strategy.
The Ashanti Regional Director of Family Health, Dr Patrick Aboagye, who received the medicines and other non-drug logistics on behalf of GHS, thanked Millennium Promise Ghana for its continuous support to health service delivery in the region.
According to him, the donation of basic medicines will go a long way to improve basic health service delivery at the beneficiary districts.
Dr Aboagye acknowledged the immense contributions and support received from the NGO in many areas of healthcare delivery in the region and mentioned the Millennium Promise’s support in complementing maternal, child health and nutrition improvement project.
He indicated that the health directorate looks forward to seeing enhanced collaboration to further improve both access and quality of services towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.
 From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi