Four communities in Techiman South deprived of basic life-saving amenities

Access to potable drinking water, health care and an accessible road network has been a major challenge impeding the development of the people of Aworopataa, Ebomso, Anitinfi and Akisimasu in the Techiman South Municipality, Bono East Region.

The delivery of quality health care including maternal and child welfare, management of minor ailments and family planning services are absent in these communities and have worsened the plight of people.

Road and communication networks to facilitate the movement of the people, goods and services and also connect them to Techiman, the regional capital and other areas have also become a nightmare.

The absence of health facilities such as the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) Compounds and no road network have cut these communities off denying them of benefits of primary health care and enjoyment of universal health coverage.

Furthermore, the bad road network has been a barrier for the residents of these communities to access health care or any other social services such as quality education among others.

This came to light when Nana Ali Kokroko II, the chief of Aworopataa spoke an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at his palace about the deprived state of their communities, lamenting that they were completely cut off from the town centres, especially during the rainy seasons.

Nana Kokroko II explained due to the absence of CHPS compounds people were not able to treat minor ailments and sometimes got complications and died of them as a result.

He noted that his community alone could count on about 600 people who are basically peasant farmers but could not access the market centres to sell their farm produce because both public and private transport did not ply the area.
In view of that, he bemoaned that most of their farm produce was left to rot on the farms, a situation he described as “very pathetic.”

Nana Kokroko II said the need for the Municipal Assembly to consider the socio-economic plight and welfare of the people was paramount.

“Sick people are mostly carried on motorbikes to nearby health facilities such as Bamiri Health Centre, and the Holy Family Hospital in Techiman. Pregnant women sometimes delivered on the way, with some losing their babies,” Nana Kokroko said and described the situation as “very disturbing” because the community continued to lose members through the process.

He appealed to the Government through the Techiman Municipal Assembly, philanthropists, and non-governmental and charitable organisations to come to the aid of the communities to change their situation for the better.

In a related interview, Mr Dominic Atia, an opinion leader at Aworopataa told the GNA that the provision of certain educational facilities such as the school feeding programme to drive enrolment, sustain the interest of pupils in school and improve quality education “is missing in schools across the aforementioned communities.”

Mr Atia added that there was the need to improve sanitation in the communities as no one could boast of a public toilet, saying that had encouraged mass open defecation in the communities.

He expressed the fear that the situation might cause the outbreak of contagious diseases like cholera and even skin infections that could be of dire consequences for the people.