The Northern Regional Minister, Mr. Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has handed over tricycle ambulances to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives for further distribution to identified hard to reach communities in their respective assemblies.
This would support the over 300 ambulances the Akufo-Addo government bought and distributed across the 275 constituencies and some major hospitals in the country under the Special Development Initiative.
The Northern Development Authority also procured the machines to complement the one constituency one ambulance initiative by bringing access to healthcare very closer to the people through the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP) the authority is mandated to implement.
At a short handing over ceremony on Monday, the Regional Minister said the items forms part of efforts by the Akufo-Addo administration to bring healthcare to door steps of the people. He said each of the 16 Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies in the region are entitled to two of the machines.
According to the Minister, similar gestures are replicated in the North East, Upper East, Upper West and Savannah Regions in order to ensure transportation doesn’t become an impediment to the people in accessing quality healthcare services.
“These ambulances were purchased by the Northern Development Authority for all the five northern regions and today the Northern Region MMDCEs are here to take delivery of their allocations. The allocation is two ambulances for each district.”
Alhaji Shani highlighted there is still the need for these tricycle ambulances due to the deprived nature of some of the communities in the area and thanked President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the continuous support to the health sector.
The Moyor of Tamale, Hon Sule Salifu commended the government on behalf of his colleagues and assured the vehicles would be judiciously put to use to serve the people.
He observed transportation is actually a major challenge in most of the rural communities especially when the need arises to convey pregnant women in labor and the age to major health centers.
“This would be given to the CHPS Compounds from the assessment many of us has done as MMDCEs so that they [CHPS Compounds] can intend convey patients to the major health centers within the sub district levels” he added.
