The Bawku municipal director of health services, Dr. Mensah Afful has hinted that most children in Bawku could be at risk of infections especially those under five because about 78% who were expected to be immunized have not been able to do so due to the conflict situation.
Dr. Mensah Afful explained that according to health policy, they were expected to immunize 90% of children under five years against polio and measles, however, as at march this year, only 20.4% and 22.3% of children were covered against polio and measles respectively as against 26.9 and 28.2 % during the same period last year.
Dr. Mensah revealed this when he addressed the youth of all the tribes in Bawku at a meeting organized by the Bawku Literary Society (BLS) with sponsorship from IBIS GHANA, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
Dr. Mensah noted that this has resulted into a pool of infections leading to rising number of deaths among children because most of the nurses could not move freely to some parts of the Municipality and parents equally could not move to health centers to have their children immunized.
“Even now that the area is experiencing relative calm, hospital attendance is very low and one may wonder where they take the sick to and this is becoming a great worry to the health directorate” he lamented.
Dr. Mensah said that performance indicators on immunization, deliveries and out-patients Department (OPD) were all going down as a result of the restriction on movement especially the health personnel who belong to the feuding sides.
He said only six doctors are currently working under serious stress who are made up of two Cubans and two Ghanaians as general doctors and two ophthalmologists.
Dr. Mensah Afful described the conflict as unproductive and backwards considering the numerous negative effects on the socio-economic life of the people especially the health implications the people are grappling with.
Touching on education, the Human Resource Personnel of Ghana Education Service (GES) in Bawku, Madam Fatima Seidu said that teaching and learning come to stand still any time the conflict intensifies.
She added that as a result of the conflict, a lot of teachers thronged the office of GES for transfers and releases especially the non-natives to the detriment of the pupils.
She further added that a visit to some of the basic school revealed that out of 10 teachers only two were present and population of 150 in a school only 50 pupils were present.
Madam Fatima explained that education is the bedrock of development for every society, therefore, appealed to the youth to impact positively on their neighbors for effective teaching and learning when they return to the various communities.
Speaking under the theme “Tolerance Amongst the youth – A Pre – Requisite for sustainable peace in Bawku” the president of BLS, Miss Florence Bombande said the can never be any meaningful development in Bawku if there is no peace.
She admonished the youth not to allow themselves to be used as a tool in the conflict because is their future which is at stake here and any lapses on their part could jeopardize them greatly.
Miss Florence Bombande urged the youth in Bawku to see each other as one and try within all means possible to peacefully live together.
At the end of the meeting, the youth saw the need for peace to prevail in Bawku and its environs and came out with some resolution messages for peace, some of which read; Respect for individual opinion, let’s live in peace in Bawku, political campaigns should be peaceful, Discipline during the elections, and among others.
Godwin Nkunu
ISD Bawku
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