Prof Richard Adanu
Professor Richard Adanu, Dean of the School of Public Health and Country Director of Evidence for Action (E4A) Ghana, has stressed the need for more government involvement in financing interventions in maternal and child health.
According to Prof Adanu, although the government is doing well in its interventions in the health sector, more, he mentioned, can be done especially in the area of financing programmes that improve the health of mothers, newborns and children.
This call was made during the School of Public Health and Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) dissemination meeting on the results of the E4A project phase one, funded by DIFD and implemented by Options UK, a consulting firm.
Touching on the impact of the programme which started in 2002 in four regions of the country, Prof Adanu said the E4A project has improved training and supervision for front line maternal and newborn health workers.
“It has strengthened client-provider partnerships for improved maternal and newborn health outcomes, improved the use of data for decision making and sustained public visibility for maternal and newborn health,” he said.
Prof Adanu, nonetheless, highlighted the huge disconnection between decision-making by government and the people whom those decisions affect.
He said the gap makes it unable for citizens to hold government accountability for those commitments to improve the health of citizens.
Sarah Bandali, Assistant Technical Director of Options, said there has been very a positive outcome with Ghana doing a good job in improving mother child and children health.
“In Ghana, one of the many successes is bringing clients community and health workers together who join hands to review quality of care at the facility level so they do their assessment and together collectively they help solve problems at that level, so communities have learnt to contribute resources when there is a gap,” she said.
Madam Bandali, therefore, pointed out that everybody has a role to play and can take action for real change to be made for the population.
“We need institutionalisation of culture of partnership between three levels to be extended further to other setting because it works, we need community involvement and voice into their own health care system in order for real sustainable action to the implemented,” she added.
Dr Gloria Quansah Asare, Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service, hailed the Mamaye campaign for its success in improving maternal and infant survival through its advocacy processes.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri