The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated essential medical equipment worth 150,000 USD to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to strengthen Ghana’s effort in improvingmaternal, newborn and child healthcare.
The equipment is expected to be distributed to three regional hospitals, nine district hospitals, 40 health centre’s and CHPS compounds in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern and Volta regions.
The equipment includes Cardiotocography (CTG) monitors, Autoclaves, Photo therapy machines, Digital Blood Pressure machine, Delivery beds, Mobile dopplers, Thermometer for adult and neonate, Infant meter, and Neonatal weight machine.
The rest are Resuscitation set (Bag and Mask) for adults, Resuscitation set (Bag and Mask) for newborns, Saturation monitors, Emergency/Storage trolleys, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Oxygen concentrators, and Infant radiant warmers.
A Senior Representative of JICA Ghana,Mr Oda Ryotaro, who handed over the equipment, said the donation was made underthe Quality of Care for Maternal and Newborn Health projectwith focus on 5S-KAIZEN-TQM.
The five-year collaborative project between JICA and GHS is operational in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern and Volta regions and seeks to improve the capacity of health facilities in the targeted regions to deliver optimal quality maternal and newborn care.
“With the view to support and strengthen universal access to quality maternal and newborn care in the four regions of Ghana, the equipment will complement existing interventions implemented by the project,” he said.
Director of Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Marion Okoh-Owusu, said the equipment received would be used for the intended purpose.
He said existing interventions to reduce maternal and neonatal mortalities by the GHS included training on the use of Ghana’s Quality of Care standards, application of Quality Improvement tools to enhance the workplace environment, re-enforcing continuum of care using the Maternal and Child Health Record Book and strengthening the referral system.
According to the WHO, the quality of health services is critical to achieving effective Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and meeting the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The success and value of UHC depends on its ability to provide quality services to all people, everywhere.
Dr Okoh-Owusu said the project thus provided the necessary support towards institutionalising a culture of quality towards developing a resilient health service in Ghana.
