Catholic Bishop worried about increase in diseases

The Catholic Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Dioceses, Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta has expressed worry about the increase in communicable diseases and environmental related problems in the country.

The Bishop indicated that the phenomenon was compounded by poor hygienic practices, low awareness creation and poor public education.

According to him, irresponsible attitude by some members of the public on sanitation made people vulnerable to infections and their consequences.

Bishop Agyenta expressed these sentiments on Wednesday while addressing a three-day meeting of the Tamale Ecclesiastical province and health monitoring teams drawn from the three northern regions in Bolgatanga.

The meeting dubbed “Agenda for Right to Good Health (ARIGHT) for the 1992 constitution review,” is to review a participatory monitoring framework on the implementation of the Public Health Act (ACT, 851) carried out in the 90 Catholic Parishes and outstations in the three northern regions.

Bishop Agyenta said the review meeting could not have come at a better time since poor sanitation and increase in communicable diseases had created more vulnerabilities compounded by poor awareness creation and public education on health.

He said diseases could be successfully prevented if the various implementing bodies worked together on programmes tailored towards addressing them to avoid duplication of roles.

He said it was in the light of seeking cohesion that the Catholic Bishops Conference was working to make the Public Health Act practicable, and to join hands with stakeholders to create awareness and together promote healthy lifestyles.

Mr Samuel Zan, Executive Secretary of the Department of Human Development at the National Catholic Secretariat gave insight of the meeting.

He said the framework was put together by the Department of Human Development (DHD) of the Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC), with sponsorship from Star Ghana and contributions from agencies such as the USAID, DANIDA, UK Aid and the European Union to engage citizens when implementing public health programmes and projects within the context of the Public Health Act.

Mr Zan said public health was critical in nation building because it promoted the well-being of people and improved quality of life, adding that, any nation that spent less in healthcare was economically productive and assured its citizens of better livelihoods.

He said the review meeting would share outcomes, experiences and challenges, and indicated that lessons learnt from the exercise would guide them to map out strategies to increase impact and enhance access to public health facilities and services, aimed at improving the overall well-being of the citizenry.

Mr Daniel Syme, Deputy Upper East Regional Minister thanked the Catholic Church for championing the agenda in promoting the well-being of Ghanaians through numerous interventions such as health education and food security.