The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says preventable diseases which are a major burden to healthcare in Ghana are better dealt with at source and in the communities, rather than to wait until they become problems at the hospital level.
According to him, diseases like cholera which seems to have reared its ugly head again in the country, especially since 2014, require better sanitation and not better medication to curb.
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Saturday when he delivered a speech at the 50th congregation and 5th oath taking and induction ceremony of the School of Medical Sciences of the University of Cape Coast.
“It requires better sanitation, and not better medication, to deal with cholera, which seems to have reared its ugly head again in our country, especially since 2014. I hope that such programmes, as you have instituted here, would position the students to play good advocacy roles as healthcare providers within the communities they work in after their studies,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo noted that improving the physical infrastructure of the health sector would help bridge the equity gap in access to healthcare between urban and rural Ghana, the production and distribution of health personnel, and high under-five and maternal mortality rates.
His government, the President assured, will strive to complete ongoing projects around the country, as well as expand health promotion programmes, scale up disease prevention strategies and enhance access to curative and emergency services.
He indicated that government will continue to make capital outlays in the health sector, and has begun to undertake a number of healthcare projects across the country to bring the provision of healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of the people.
All these projects, he added, are geared towards expanding health facilities in the country, and creating ready job opportunities for students in health disciplines in the country.
Source: otecfmghana.com
