Koforidua, Dec. 9, GNA - Plan Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), has assured government of its support and commitment in the development of national institutions, especially education and health.

Mr Prem Schukar, Country Director of Plan Ghana, gave the assurance when he paid a courtesy call on the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi, on Friday to announce the expansion of the scope of the NGO from Asesewa to cover the whole of the Region.

He said Plan Ghana believed that access to healthcare, particularly for pregnant women and right of entry to education for all children must be an issue of right and not privilege.

Mr Schukar said Plan Ghana is committing 48 per cent of its resources in the development of education to ensure that every child enrol in school.

He said the organisation’s focus would be on vocational and technical education to empower the youth, especially girls in its development agenda through the provision of the needed infrastructure and logistics.

He expressed the hope that the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) would have a healthy partnership with the NGO to execute its development agenda.

Dr Apea-Kubi said government supports private-public sector partnership to achieve its better Ghana agenda and would therefore partner any development oriented organisation.

He said one of the areas that government sought to pay attention under the new educational reforms was vocational and technical education, but unfortunately it was not able to incorporate it into the mainstream education sector.

He said maternal mortality remained a challenge in the region and indicated that the RCC was frantically looking at ways such as stocking all blood banks and building more health centres at remote areas to help address the situation.