The Upper East Regional branch of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has celebrated its Child Health Promotion Week with a sensitisation tour of health facilities in the region.

It was on the theme: “Healthy Child, Start Right, Do It Right for Total Growth and Development” and aims at improving access and efficiency in service delivery, quality of care and increase coverage of children.

The Week, instituted by the GHS in 2004 to be marked in the second week of May every year, is to scale up a number of priority interventions to reverse the morbidity and mortality trends of children in the country.

It also creates awareness on health issues and improve health coverage for children especially those who would not usually be covered under the normal routine outreach services.

Mr Rexford King James Adjei, the Regional Health Promotion Officer of the GHS, led a joint monitoring team from the Regional Health Directorate and the Meta Foundation, a health oriented NGO, to some health facilities in the Builsa North and the Nabdam districts as part of activities to mark the Week.

He acknowledged the good turnout of the people at the facilities visited and said they needed education on health issues to enable them to access healthcare services affectively.

He said one of the major challenges facing the regional and district health directorates was inadequate funding to undertake social mobilisation and community activities on health issues.

Some of the health facilities visited included the Sadema District Hospital, the Chuchuliga Sub District Health Facility, and Achanyire Goayie CHIPS Compound.

Mr Adjei commended the Meta Foundation for complementing the efforts of the GHS in organising the Week to ensure monitoring and supervision.

He said the Foundation had also supported capacity building of 84 volunteers to conduct home visits to promote exclusive breastfeeding and encourage pregnant women to seek antenatal and post-natal care at the various health facilities.

The NGO also encouraged parents to register their new born babies with the Department of Birth and Death as well as organised health talks using the community radio.

Mr Ernest Aboziah, the Builsa North District Health Promotion Officer, attributed the success story of this year’s event to the high level of the awareness creation embarked on by the NGO.

Unlike before, it was very difficult getting people to register their newborn babies with the Department of Birth and Death, but now many parents are patronising the services, this will provide reliable and accurate data for proper planning and programme implementation,” he said.

Mr David Amozebega, the Programme Manager of the Foundation, said health, sanitation and agriculture were among the core mandate of the Foundation.

He said the NGO, in collaboration with the GHS, the Birth and Death Registry, the traditional authorities, assembly members, opinion leaders and support from UNICEF- Ghana, was implementing a one-year project in 80 communities dubbed: “Sustaining Human Progress and Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience.”

GNA