Residents of Kwesikrom, a cocoa farming community in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region can now heave a sigh of relief following the commissioning of a newly built CHPS compound.
The GHS200,000 Community-Based Health Planning and Services compound funded by the MP, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, replaces an old congested and deteriorated facility.
While handing over the CHPS compound to the chiefs and people of Kwesikrom, Armah-Kofi Buah told Citi News the facility will serve thousands of people in the area.
“We started from ground zero as at the time we walked in here. There was no healthcare, no electricity, and water as well as no road connecting them to the district that they belong to. So it was really a daunting task to try to make sure that we can work to open this place up.”
“One of the critical challenges here has to do with healthcare. We are talking of a population of over 30,000 in this area alone and access to healthcare has been a challenge. I witnessed first-hand women who died in the arms of their husbands during delivery because we didn’t have the right healthcare or maternity facilities.”
Mr. Buah stated that he was happy working as the MP and was hopeful that John Mahama who has a clear interest in transforming the area would win the election and give him a big push to transform the constituency.
The Midwife In-charge of the Kwesikrom CHPS compound, Peter Sanzu, told Citi News the new facility is a relief for both health personnel and patients.
“At the old CHPS compound, we used to care for both male and female patients, pregnant women, and children all together in one room. So it was a challenge for us in taking good care of our patients in the room. Again at the old facility, the ceiling was leaking and snakes invading us on numerous occasions. We could not even sleep as a result. So this new facility provided by the MP is going to help us because we will have a comfortable place and kitchen for the nurses as compared to the old one where we were cooking at the same place we slept. This will give us a sound mind to deliver healthcare to the people.”
A resident of Kwesikrom, Esther Amponsah, who could not hide her joy of the new facility said it would help to save lives.
“Pregnant women in labour usually need certain critical logistics for their care, but we didn’t have these things here but right now this new CHPs compound is opened for us, it will help to avoid the rushing of women in labour on the poor road where we sometimes record deaths. So we are very grateful. We thank Kofi Buah for it because we were really suffering here. Through him, we now know that the sick can have some good health care right here unlike before where we always had to send patients to Prestea which had so much risk in walking all the way to Prestea.”
The Chief of Kwesikrom, Odikro Kweku Duah II, said what the MP has done for the community is commendable.
“He has really done well because the Chief I succeeded gave us the old place for a CHPS compound. We never had support from successive governments until we told Kofi Buah. He promised to help us, but we thought he was joking. Thankfully today we have opened it, and we ask God’s blessing upon his life because we have truly suffered over the years with healthcare here.”
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah also handed over to the community a borehole which he funded at a cost of GHS11,000.