Citizens in five districts in Northern and Upper East Regions now have the voice to demand better health care delivery by texting their concerns of poor health service delivery to the authorities for quick response.
This follows the launch of a project dubbed: 'Tackling Accountable Reproductive Health Delivery through strengthened Advocacy', at Salaga in the East Gonja District of the Northern Region, on Thursday.
It is being implemented by the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), a member of the MamaYe Advocacy Coalition with funding from STAR – Ghana, a multi-donor pooled funding agency.
The two-year project uses a web-based citizens complaints and resolution tracking system, which seeks to improve quality, transparency and accountability in the health delivery system and the beneficiary districts include Bawku West, Binduri, East Gonja, Bunkpurugu- Yunyoo and Bolgatanga.
The primary aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of citizens to demand quality, accessible and transparent services and also empower them to have a better voice in health service delivery.
Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, who read a speech on behalf of the Northern Regional Minister during the launch of the project, described it as laudable.
He said the objectives are in line with government’s commitment,
To provide access to health care services and to ensure that quality health care needs of the people are met.
Professor Saa Dittoh, Board Member of ISODEC said despite the general improvements in health delivery services, the country is still a distant away from achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on improving child and maternal health to reduce mortality by two-thirds by the year. He said,
To enhance the achievement of MDGs four and five, it is important that maternal and child health services are more responsive to the needs of the people and that the voice of the communities is heard in how the services are provided and how resources are utilised to provide the services...
"ISODEC believes that every life is important hence the initiative to ensure quality, accessible and transparent health service delivery to amongst others help in achieving the MDGs on maternal mortality"
Mr Isaac Lartey, Northern Regional Health Information Officer said the inadequate human resource situation in the region, especially the lack of doctors and nurses, coupled with very few good conditioned motorbikes affect delivery of quality health care to the people.
Mr Lartey said ISODEC’s initiative would find gaps in client satisfaction and also help outline infrastructural and logistics need that would holistically lead to accessible, accountable and transparent health care for all.