The Ave-Dakpa Health Centre in the Akatsi North District of the Volta region is in a state of crisis, prompting residents to appeal to the government for essential medical supplies and adequate staff.
The facility lacks basic amenities, medical equipment, and personnel, making it challenging to provide quality healthcare services to the district’s population of approximately 40,000.
Residents have been seeking medical attention in neighboring towns, such as Dzodze and Akatsi, due to the inadequacy of the health centre, resulting in complications and fatalities.
John Ahiale, a concerned resident, emphasized that the district has only one small health post, which is insufficient for the large population.
The Ave-Dakpa Health Centre is in a deplorable state, with inadequate personnel, no permanent medical officers, and a lack of basic amenities like water, laboratory equipment, and medicines for common ailments.
The facility’s conditions have eroded the confidence of the local population in the healthcare services provided.
Interventions from the government, NGOs, corporate bodies, and philanthropists are crucial to address the challenges faced by the health centre.
Posting permanent medical officers, qualified nurses, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, and midwives to handle cases in these deprived communities is essential.
The people of Ave-Dakpa, predominantly peasant farmers, struggle with poverty and lack of basic necessities.
Access to affordable and quality healthcare services is vital for their survival. The Akatsi North District Directorate of Health Services, allied agencies, churches, and schools must collaborate to extend public health and environmental sanitation programs to the area.
Ghana’s chances of meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets by 2030 for goals 4 and 5, which aim to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, respectively, depend on urgent attention to the conditions of health facilities like the Ave-Dakpa Health Centre.
