The Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central and Minister of Aviation, Joseph Kofi Adda, has repaired a dysfunctional ambulance of the Kologo Health Centre making it operational again after nearly six months of breakdown.
The ambulance which serves Kologo and its surrounding communities suffered a major engine damage last year which eventually grounded it.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to handover the rehabilitated ambulance to the chief and people of Kologo on Sunday, Mr. Adda said his efforts to build a robust health care system in the area coupled with the concerns for a better ambulance service, urged him to take urgent steps to repair the vehicle.
Expressing sadness at how people in the community have had to suffer since it broke down, he was hopeful the repaired ambulance would help eliminate the problems associated with finding means, especially to transport pregnant women and children to medical facilities during times of emergency.
Mr. Adda after the presentation urged the community and management of the health Centre to work out measures towards generating income for the maintenance of the ambulance.
He said the only way the ambulance would last longer to serve the purpose for which it was bought is for management of the health Centre to place priority on servicing it regularly.
”I’m here today to honour a request made by our chief. Chief requested that I repair the ambulance for his community the last time I visited him. It was his great concern so I didn’t sit down when he made that request because the health sector is dear to me and I quickly gathered funding to repair the ambulance. It hasn’t been easy but I’m happy we have been able to fix the ambulance. With the ambulance available now, all emergency cases will be handled without problems. All the problems we faced when it was broken down are now over by the Grace of God”.
“I want to add that now the ambulance is in your hands, the management of the health centre should make it a priority to service it regularly. Its durability and efficiency will depend on how well we maintain and service it”. He added.
He later announced that the government of Ghana has made a procurement of some 275 ambulances and will soon be distributed to every municipal and district in the country to help the ambulance service work efficiently.
“As I speak to you, government has bought 275 ambulances to be given to every constituency. They have arrived and undergoing registrations. Once that is done, they will be distributed. This will help address the challenge of ambulances in the country. The NPP government is committed to improving the health sector” Mr. Adda hinted.
He pledged to offer his support to health centres in the area with a call on Journalists to report and bring to clear issues affecting the health sector.
“I will do my best to improve conditions at all the health centres in the Kasena-Nankana area. I will visit to see and know some of the challenges so I can report to the sector minister when I get back to the capital. But then, I will urge that our Journalists should begin to report on issues affecting the health sector here so that when I tell the sector minister he wouldn’t say I want too much for my area” . He asserted.
He later visited the site of the contractor working on the Navrongo- Kologo- Naaga Road. There, he inspected progress of work.
For his part, the Paramount chief of the Kologo Traditional Area, Naba Clifford Asobayire V, thanked the MP for keeping to his word and rehabilitating the ambulance.
He said the issue of the ambulance has been a major concern to the people of Kologo and its restoration is a kind gesture he and his people will forever remain grateful to Mr. Adda for.
He assured, after he received the ambulance that, all measures will be worked out to ensure the vehicle is maintained and kept in good shape.
Naba Clifford Asobayire also thanked government for the budgetary allocations given to the Navrongo-Kologo- Naaga Road.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Senyalah Castro
