Mr. Samuel Naa Yendor, the Assembly Member for Baayiri Electoral Area in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region has said that lack of electricity is taking great toll on the delivery of healthcare services in the area.
He said the lack of electricity in communities where there are health facilities is adversely affecting healthcare delivery in those facilities and, invariably the healthcare needs of residents.
This he said is because some medications require electricity to be stored in refrigerators at specific temperatures, but that there are no electricity in those communities.
The Assembly Member noted that the Baayiri Health Centre, and the Kataa and Go Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds have serious challenges with storing some medical stuffs and drugs as a result no electricity.
Mr. Yendor who said this in an interview with Info Radio, observed that though the electoral are had three health facilities, medicines are stored at Naaha which is far from the community.
He indicated that it has become compelling to transport some materials and drugs that cannot to stored ordinarily but must be stored in fridges and other electricity-powered equipment to Nahaa Health Centre in the Gudaayiri Electoral Area for proper storage.
However, he lamented that the road from Baayiri to Nahaa is nothing to write home about other than a perilous death trap. He said health personnel are forced to make a whole journey from Baayiri to Wa then to Nahaa and back, which is a long travelling distance, for storage of materials.
Mr. Yendor further lamented that the situation is even direr in times when health practitioners have to attend to emergency cases at night. He said they have to employ the services of torchlights whose batteries easily get drained.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Member has indicated that Guonuo, a community in the area has a population quota that requires the community to have a health facility on its own so that residents can access their health needs there.
As such, he said the Guonuo community is planning a community self-help initiative to build a health facility for themselves where health care services will be delivered while waiting on the District Assembly and government to provide them with a CHPS compound.