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| Some of the Volunteers at the Training |
About 80 volunteers have been
empowered and equipped to revive the Community Health Volunteer (CHV) program
by the Ghana Health Service in the Volta Region of Ghana.
The volunteers will serve as the
first point of call in increasing access to child and maternal health services
to the public, particularly in the rural communities.
The CHV program which is being
re-activated in the Ketu South Municipality is based on the Community-Based
Health Planning Services (CHPS) Zone concept.
Under the CHPS zone concept
communities are strategically mapped out and provided with health professionals
as a first point of contact on all health issues, including health education.
The health professionals also partner community volunteers and other
stakeholders to improve access to health care by focusing on prevention and
ensuring proper referral protocols.
Dormant Health Volunteers
The Ketu South Disease Control
Officer, Dovaid Agbokpe noted that the CHV programme has become dormant for a
while due to challenges such as, lack of motivation and support, monitoring and
supervision.
He therefore described the
re-activation as timely to reverse the declining rate of child and
maternal mortality and epidemics which is usually due to ignorance
and delays in access to appropriate health. He added that CHPS Zone
concept will also be strengthened saying, “If successful, the re-activation is
expected to be replicated in other parts of the region in the near future.”
The re-activation is part of the
Improving Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) Project being undertaken by the
Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in the Keta Municipal,
Ketu-South Municipal and Ketu-North District assemblies.
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| Madam Kim Heunghee of KOICA presenting a Certificate to a Volunteer |
Training of Volunteers
He said the 80 volunteers were
recruited from 21 communities under nine CHPS Zones put into two batches of 40
to undertake a week each of intensive residential training at Denu.
The training which comprised both
theory and practical among other things bordered on conflict management,
antenatal care, concerns regarding child deliveries, immunisation, family
planning, nature and symptoms of diseases including malaria, anaemia, cholera
and disease surveillance. They were also given logistics, tools and incentives
boost their morale and commitment to the work.
Monitoring of Volunteers
Mr. Agbokpe said a monitoring team
comprising regional and district teams were being formed to partake in the
monthly meetings at the CHPS Zones as a measure to constantly monitor the CHVs.
This he said was because; the volunteers will be a strategic link between
health workers at the CHPS zones and the community members by giving timely
information to both sides.
He commended KOICA for the initiative
and support in providing the volunteers with food packages, transport
allowances, call credits, raincoats, bags, training wares among others, to
sustain their interest.
Madam Kim Heunghee, Project Manager
of KOICA, disclosed that under the two year (2014-2016) IMCH Project, the
beneficiary districts enjoys supply of equipment, staff retraining and the
building of a midwifery school at Keta by the end of 2016 among others.
