Accra, Nov. 13, GNA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) together with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) have undertaken a project to improve the health of Ghanaians.
The project expanded evidence-based, high-impact interventions to prevent child and maternal deaths, increased family planning use, reduced malaria-related morbidity and mortality, and improved the nutrition of pregnant women and young children.
Ms Janean Davis, USAID/Ghana Health Office Director, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, highlighted the impact of the partnership.
The statement said: “Through its broad and ambitious mandate across the Central, Greater Accra, Northern, Western, and Volta regions, the USAID Systems for Health project has touched the lives of countless individuals through innovative approaches that build upon Ghana’s health system.”
It said since 2015, support from the United States of America contributed to a dramatic increase in the percentage of Ghanaian health facilities conducting skilled delivery.
“The percentage of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) zones conducting deliveries in the Central, Greater Accra, Northern, Western, and Volta regions rose from 26 percent in 2015 to 44 percent in 2018.
“Many more women and babies now have access to life-saving services, reducing maternal and morbidity. This is just one of many contributions of the USAID Systems for Health project, which supported the GHS to improve health service delivery by strengthening health systems vital to ensuring service access and quality,” the statement said.
It said through USAID, the US Government supported the GHS to conduct trainings for health workers and facilitated focused ‘shared learning’ collaborative sessions where health workers visited other health facilities to share their experiences and skills and brainstorm practical solutions to entrenched health challenges.
The statement said “Shared learning” districts achieved impressive results, including a 42 percent reduction in institutional maternal mortality; a 35 percent reduction in stillbirths; and a 41 percent increase in the number of people who accept family planning services.
It said through its close work with the GHS, the USAID Systems for Health project revealed the positive effects of working with regions and districts to help managers and health workers identify solutions to health challenges by looking at data.
“Realizing the importance of community engagement for quality health services, the USAID Systems for Health project assisted regions and districts to make CHPS zones functional and revitalize their Community Health Management Committees. The percentage of functional committees increased from 62 percent in 2015 to 97 percent in 2018,” the statement said.
The USAID also supported the GHS to build and equip 26 new CHPS compounds and renovate 50 health facilities in the Northern and Volta regions and that these new and renovated health facilities are now fully equipped, including a full maternity ward, ensuring life-saving services reach the doorsteps of communities.
The statement said the project also built a pontoon boat to provide services to remote, hard-to-reach communities in the Volta Region and the boat now allowed health workers to reach isolated island communities safely and efficiently.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS