Some residents going through screening
Pregnant women in certain communities in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region have disclosed that some of them have to give birth in vehicles conveying them to hospital due to the bad nature of their roads.
Besides, they indicated that the poor
road network often discouraged them from attending to health facilities which
were at far distances for their routine antenatal care.
These concerns were raised by the
women when a Takoradi-based NGO, Aroma Universal Foundation (AUF), organized
free health screening and gave free drugs to the residents of Ajowa, a fishing
community in the municipality.
Monica Dede Odonkor, Chief Executive
Officer of the AUF, said the residents of Ajowa, Enyiwaho and Ponponi, all
in the Ahanta West municipality, also complained about lack of health facility
in their catchment area.
“The residents said the non-existence
of health facilities had compelled most expectant mothers to give birth at home
at the peril of their lives or have to trek several kilometres to health
centres miles away from them,” she added.
She said the people threatened that if
politicians would not address their concerns, they should not come to them for
their votes this year.
A board member of the NGO who is also
the Head of Pharmacy at Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi, Mr. Kojo
Appenteng, educated the residents on the proper medication and the effective
use of drugs.
He advised the residents to desist
from self-medication, incomplete intake of prescribed dosage of drug, as well
as sharing of drugs.
The residents expressed their
appreciation for the benevolence shown them by Aroma Universal Foundation.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi