Ghanaian, Ivorien health directorates collaborate

Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), July 26, GNA - The Dormaa Municipal Health Directorate and the Koun-Fao District counterpart in Cote d'Ivoire are collaborating to guarantee easy access to basic health care services among citizens of Ghana and the neighbouring country resident along the border.

Under the deal, Ivorian communities along the border located far away from the national health facilities would enjoy basic health care services from nearby Ghanaian hospitals without any discrimination and vice versa.

To this end, a high powered medical delegation from Koun-Fao led by the District Director of Health Services, Dr. Kouane Gnanyen Ernest, has interacted with staff of Dormaa Municipal Health office and the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Vincent Oppong Asamoah at Dormaa-Ahenkro.

The occasion was the 2009 annual performance meeting during which the health staff and the municipal health management team took stock of their activities over the past year and designed an action plan towards the achievement of set goals in 2010.

Welcoming the Ivorian delegation, Mr. Asamoah lauded the partnership between the two sister health institutions and pledged the assembly's support for the initiative.

"Diseases like accidents know no administrative, political, racial, religious or cultural boundaries, hence the need for countries in our sub-region to relax their stance in the event of region-wide health programmes including national immunization days", he said.

Mr. Asamoah christened the initiative "a dual citizen who has parents in both Ghana and La Cote D'Ivoire and therefore should not encounter any impediment in its growth into maturity".

The MCE assured the delegation and the municipal health directorate that the assembly would liaise with Koun-Fao district administration to ensure that the health collaboration was spared bureaucracy, which often delayed the speedy movement of goods and services along the borders.

Mr. Asamoah expressed the intention of the assembly to work in concert with the municipal office of the Ghana Education Service to institute award schemes aimed at enticing basic and second cycle students to take keen interest in the study of French to strengthen communication between Ghanaians and Ivorians.

Madam Florence Iddrisah, the Dormaa Municipal Director of Health Service, traced the source of the collaboration to the days of national immunization when both districts had to cover portions of each other's territory due to difficulty in accessing some communities.

She said the exchange programme had helped the directorate to exceed its target of immunization of children and also enhanced disease surveillance along the border.

Dr. Kouane Ernest, leader of the Ivorian delegation, catalogued similar gains his district had made ever since they agreed to collaborate with their Ghanaian counterpart.

He said the exchange programme had given his outfit the opportunity to learn new ways of doing things by comparing notes with Ghanaian counterparts on similar problems.