Rita Wurapa, the Health Director for the Biakoye District in the Oti Region, says her outfit is unable to reach island communities in the district, for it has no means of transportation.
To frequent those cut off hinterlands with health care delivery, Madam Wurapa says her outfit will need a boat or canoe.
“In the island are scattered communities but you can’t reach there if you don’t have a boat or canoe to, first, cross this river,” she told a section of the media at this year’s Malaria Chemo Prevention Sensitisation programme at the island.
It was a Tuesday, a market day, so there were more canoes and boats for traders and public sector workers to board to and fro in spite of the high risk of overloading the vessels with both passengers and goods.
The health team in a canoe to the Biakoye island
Except on market days, Madam Wurapa explained that it is costly getting a canoe to transport her and her team to work at the island.
“Our inability to go on outreach programmes regularly is seriously affecting healthcare delivery because, you know…Malaria and water borne diseases are prevailent at the island. My outfit begs the Ministry of Health, philanthropists or corporate Ghana for either a boat or canoe to facilitate our accessibility to the island where our people need our services often,” she noted.
At the island, Rosa Yaa Ayibor, the Biakoye District Malaria Focal person, educated the community on the need to sleep under treated mosquito nets.
The health team at the island to start work
In groups, the health team demonstrated to the community how the net is fixed.
Malaria is prevalent at the island so an ample time was committed in educating and administering of dosage to the community.
By: Umar Sheriff Musah