The Eastern Regional Health Directorate has held its 2025 half-year performance review meeting with a renewed call to strengthen primary health care delivery as the key to achieving universal health coverage.
The meeting, held in Koforidua under the theme “Improving Access to Primary Health Care: A Pre-requisite for Achieving Universal Health Coverage,” was the first official review addressed by the newly appointed Regional Health Director, who assumed office in May this year.
In his welcome address, the Regional Director of Ghana Health Services, Dr. Damien Punguyire commended health staff and district assemblies for their commitment to expanding access to health care, especially through the construction of CHPS compounds.
He highlighted some key achievements for the first half of 2025 stating that,early initiation of breastfeeding improved to 96.9%,Outpatient attendance rose from 1.4 to 1.5 per capita following the opening of five new hospitals .
Also, Stillbirth rate dropped to 11.2 per 1,000 births, surpassing the national target,TB case notification increased significantly from 82% to 89%, and Under-5 institutional malaria fatality rate reduced to zero.
However, some indicators showed worrying trends.
Family planning acceptor rate declined from 37% to 33.6%, immunization coverage dropped to 94.2%, and institutional maternal mortality ratio increased slightly to 117 deaths per 100,000 live births. Antibiotic prescription rates also rose from 28% to 32.4%, raising concerns about antimicrobial resistance.
The Regional Director Dr. Damien Punguyire urged stakeholders to confront these challenges with urgency, stressing that achieving universal health coverage requires enhanced community engagement, stronger district partnerships, continuous staff training, and improved accountability.
He concluded that beyond the numbers, the ultimate goal remains saving lives and ensuring equitable access to health care across the Eastern Region.
The Eastern Regional Minister Hon. Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey was alarmed with the high cases of institutional maternal mortality and urged stakeholders to prioritize strategic solution to curbing maternal deaths.
According to her “it is quite worrying to hear our queen death while giving birth , we should be able to identify risk pregnancies for interventions, the most strict ideal management of pregnant women during delivery”
“We must assign task to staff with prerequisite skills and training , organize periodic refresher training to fill knowledge gaps , conducting effective supportive supervision to empower and correct mistakes and exhibit preferable attitudes in the course of service delivery, timely referrals and effective communication among nurses”.
The Minister further reiterated government’s commitment to continue to offer the needed support through improving health infrastructure as well as recruitment of the needed manpower and logistics for efficient and quality health service delivery to achieve universal health coverage.
She said “government has charged every district assembly to prioritize the construction of additional CHPS compounds in undeserved areas , rehabilitate and refurbish existing ones whose structures has deteriorated and must equip them to be able to deliver the much needed quality health care at the community level”.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/ Obed Ansah
