Medic says time ripe for Ghana to promote health ahead of MDG deadline
The role of Health Promotion Technical Officers in the delivery of quality health service for sustainable quality health is indispensable, Dr. Emmanuel Teye Adjase, Director, College of Health and Well-Being-Kintampo (CoH-K) has observed.
He said time was ripe for the country to give impetus to health promotion because that could assist in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) four, five and six on health.
Dr Adjase said the achievement of the other MDGs like those on poverty and education were all related to health.
He made the observation at the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ forum and orientation of field supervisors on health promotion, organised by the CoH-K at Kintampo in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
About 108 participants nationwide, including Directors from the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service in Accra, Human Resource and Health Promotion Officers from the Regional Health Directorates and District Focal Persons for Health Promotion participated in the event.
It was aimed at giving participants knowledge about health promotion as a professional health discipline, and the skills to understand the requirements and practical orientation for effective service delivery on the field.
Dr. Adjase stressed that the contribution of Health Promotion Technical Officers in the health delivery system could not be over-emphasised because the country could not continue to focus on primary health care and regenerative health to attain total quality health.
He explained that to promote good health meant promoting healthy living, saying that could lead to the reduction of budget allocation for the health sector.
Dr. Adjase also said if the number of people accessing health services decreases, health facilities would not be over-stretched.
He said that the environment, food and nutrition, water and sanitation among others decided the health status of the people.
Mr. Isaac Azindow, Head of the Health Promotion Programme at the CoH-K, said health promotion should include communication programmes about every sector of health.
He said that at the community levels, emphasis was only on the technical persons focusing on diseases whilst attention on the factors and causes of diseases and other health problems and challenges were missing.
Mr. Azandow said the CoH-K had started a programme to train technical officers to promote health.
Source: GNA