Agents of development in the country must prioritize the healthcare and infrastructural needs of the public as a first step to improve human capital, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Alban S. K. Bagbin has said.
He said societies that invest heavily in the healthcare needs of their people are able to translate that into a healthy population driven towards productivity.
The Speaker made the remarks when he addressed a delegation from the Nadowli-Kaleo District Health Directorate in Parliament today.
The delegation had called on the Speaker to present to him some citations and plagues in honour of his immense contribution to the development of the area during the period he served as member of parliament from 1993 to 2021 in addressing the infrastructural challenges of the district health directorate.
The leader of the delegation, Ms Phoebe Balagmum, the District Director of Health Services who read the citation said the leadership provided by the Rt Hon Speaker increased the constituency health centres from one to 10.
The district, she said can boast of a district hospital and twenty-five (25) CHPS Compounds.
She said they are also able to receive referrals from the regional capital Wa following the setting up of a microbiology unit with the digital x-ray machine the Speaker assisted to procure.
All of the above interventions according to the District Health Director helped to significantly reduce the incidence of maternal and child mortality in the district.
The Speaker expressed gratitude to the delegation and charged them to continue the hard work which he said had resulted in the low child and maternal mortality rate in the area.
He said ensuring health for all remains a persistent and entrenched global challenge and urged developing countries to elevate the priority accorded to health, and acknowledge the centrality of health to attaining the United Nations(UN) Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).