The Sunyani Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana has inaugurated a clinic at Asuakwaa, near Chiraa in the Sunyani West District to help bring health delivery to the doorstep of the people in the community and its surrounding farming communities.

The facility, which will serve about 3,000 people scattered in the area was jointly financed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani West, Mr Ignatius Baffuor-Awuah and the Methodist Church at a total cost of Ghc125,000.

The inauguration attracted inhabitants of the community and its surrounding villages, many of whom thanked the MP and the Methodist Church for solving their plight of travelling to Chiraa or Sunyani to seek healthcare.

Establishment of the clinic

Former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist, Most Reverend Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah, who is a citizen of the town, explained that the dream of establishing a clinic to serve Asuakwaa and its allied communities was initiated in 2009.

“It was a shared dream, collaborated by individuals and organisations, which has seen the inauguration of the clinic”, he said.

According to him, in addition to the provision of funds by the church and the MP, the chiefs and people of Asuakwaa provided sand and labour as part of their contribution to the project.

As we officially open the Asuakwaa Methodist Clinic for operations, it is my hope that sustained efforts would be made to obtain National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) accreditation for increased coverage and service delivery to the people of Asuakwaa and its environs”.

Member of Parliament

In his address, Mr Baffuor-Awuah commended members of Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) for contributing to the health delivery of the country.

“Churches in the country are making a huge impact in the health delivery of the country and we need to appreciate their efforts and collaborate with them”, he stated.

He said apart from contributing Ghc85, 000 for the Asuakwaa Methodist Clinic, he had also lobbied for the construction of a Ghc350,000 school block for the Domasua Methodist Basic School which is being funded by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).

Mr Baffuor-Awuah added that partnership between him and the Sunyani Diocese of the Methodist Church had been beneficial and commended the Bishop, Right Reverend Kofi Asare-Bediako for his foresight.

He assured that he would work around the clock to ensure that the clinic, which is being manned by a physician assistant, a midwife and six general nurses, was accredited by the NHIS.

Mr Baffuor-Awuah said until that was done, people who could not afford payment for the cost of their healthcare would continue to ignore the services of the clinic and travel to Chiraa and Sunyani to seek medical care.

The chief of the town, Nana Kwasi Yeboah thanked the MP and the Methodist Church for coming to their aid and gave assurance that “we will work hard to maintain the facility”.

Source: graphiconline