Tema-Ghana, Feb. 23, CDA Consult – Dr Sally Quartey, Director of Health Service, Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate said the Health Directorate’s aim at building a resilient health system in a post-COVID-19 era to ensure the continuity of essential services, maintain effective responses to infectious diseases, and good governance.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic brought some setbacks to health delivery as in a bid to battle the pandemic some activities were put on hold including the relegation of some other infectious diseases.
Dr Quartey stated during the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate’s annual performance review for 2022 with a call on stakeholders to help the directorate improve maternal and adolescent health care.
The review saw presentations covering the activities of the directorate on adolescent health, maternal issues, breastfeeding, malaria, tuberculosis and covid-19.
Reviews from the Tema Regional Hospital, Manhean Polyclinic, Port Health, Tema Health Centre, National Ambulance Service, and the VALCO Hospital.
She said the review was to analyse the work done in the health sector in the Metropolis for the year 2022 which was based on the Greater Accra Regional.
Dr Quartey said that based on the 2022 theme the directorate last year refocused its attention on essential services, such as childhood immunization, early detection of medical conditions, and sharpening response to other infectious diseases, such as monkeypox, and rabies.
She added that they also put in place strategies to ensure good governance in the various areas, and therefore commended health workers and stakeholders for the hard work and commitment they put into the work in the year under review.
The Tema Metro Health Director said the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate which the Tema Directorate is under would work under the theme; “Addressing healthcare delivery gaps for equity in health coverage through; intensifying health promotion interventions, optimizing the use of data and technology to improve access to quality healthcare, and strengthening preventive and control measures for emergent and re-emergent public health events.”
Dr Quartey explained that a lot of the time it was far easier to prevent a disease than cure it.
She added that the phase of fast-growing communities all around the region, compared to the slow expansion of existing health facilities to accommodate the huge number of clients made sound reason to put emphasis on health prevention, and disease prevention interventions.
She said this could be achieved through promoting good health lifestyles, screening to detect some diseases early so that they could be worked on early, improving upon hygiene, sanitation and environment, promoting wellness clinics and ensuring that people immunize and their babies.
She said the increased use of data and technology in promoting health care globally could not be emphasized and expressed the hope that access to quality health would be improved this year through technology and data use.
The Director of Health Services said there was a need for support from stakeholders to help the directorate tackle issues of maternal mortality, anaemia in pregnancy, late initiation of breastfeeding, adolescent health, and other shortfalls seen from the assessment of 2022 health activities.
Dr Quartey said this year, the Tema Health Directorate would prioritize community durbars to ensure that community members understand the various health initiatives to help solve the various health challenges they faced especially in Tema Manhean, where for instance anaemia in pregnancy was prevalent.
Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, who graced the review called for a radical approach to reduce the incident of maternal mortality in the metropolis.
Mr Ashitey said it was not enough for health officials to ask stakeholders to support without specifically pinpointing what each stakeholder must do to help reduce the mortality and urged the directorate to make a case for the need for urgent help from stakeholders.
