Takoradi, June 24, GNA - A five-day workshop on data management organized by the Ghana Health Service (GNA) opened at Takoradi on Thursda y. It is being attended by 25 personnel of data departments of the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Western Regional Health Administration a nd the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Health Administration. The workshop is being supported financially by the United Nations Agency for International Development (USAID) under its "Focus on Regional

Health" Project.

Dr. Kwaku Karikari, Deputy Regional Director of Health, said the USA ID has selected Western, Central and Greater Accra regions for the "Focus on

Regional Health Project" which is aimed at strengthening the health syste m and the "Behavioral Change Support Project".

He said data management was an important component of health deliver y and the GHS was making every effort to improve data management to ensure quality health delivery. He said data management has been identified as a problem in health delivery and efforts to address the problem over the past two years has n ot yielded the expected results. Dr. Karikari said four other workshops on data management would be organized in the course of the year to help find solution to the problem. He, therefore, urged the participants to apply the knowledge that wo uld be imparted to them to improve data management at all levels of the healt h system. They should also share the knowledge with their colleagues and help train others in efficient data management, he said. 24 June 10