Bawku: Nurses, midwives abandon post; health system shut down since January – GHS

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has disclosed that the health system in the Bawku Municipality is close to shutting down with several health workers abandoning posts in the midst of the prolonged conflict.

According to the GHS, the delivery of routine health services has been affected in diverse ways following the resurgence of the inter-tribal conflict in Bawku in the last quarter of 2021.

In a letter to heads of health departments in the Municipality, the Ghana Healtrvice notes that the growing insecurity in the township and surrounding communities coupled with the ban on motor riding have pushed the health system to a near shutdown since January this year.

Even though some health workers are sacrificing to go to work in the midst of challenges, fear, and palpable tension, several others have left post due to security issues, especially those working in facilities within the township.

Unfortunately, few others who are presumably not affected and not exposed to any major risk have taken advantage of the situation and vacated posts.

This has consequently taken a toll on the few available providing health services as they have reached a breakpoint.

As part of efforts to adapt to the ongoing crisis in the municipality to provide health services to the vulnerable especially children and pregnant women, a meeting is taking place today and tomorrow as the GHS hopes to call ‘run-away’ health workers to order.

“As part of efforts to adopt to the ongoing crisis in the municipality to provide health services to the vulnerable especially children and pregnant women, a management decision was taken in a meeting held on the 22nd April, 2022 to meet all staff who are currently not at post to find out the best way to assist them work in facilities that are relatively safer for them to work.

“You are by letter this urged to inform the staff absent (attached) of their invitation to meet a five-member team constituted to engage them and make recommendations to the Municipal Health Management for further actions,” parts of a Ghana Health Service letter reads.