Dambai, April 18, GNA – Mr Richard Anane Adortse, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, People for Health (P4H), said there was the need for Municipal and District Assemblies to always make the 0.5 per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) quota for malaria activities.
He noted that although feedback on commitments secured during a dialogue on the quota in the Oti Region and Adaklu in the Volta Region to a large extent was successful, it also showed that some Assemblies were not aware or were unwilling to release the earmarked zero point five quota for the activities.
Mr Adortse during a District Citizen Monitoring Committees’ (DCMCs) quarterly review meeting on People for Health projects held at Dambai, said despite the fallout, some remarkable successes had been chalked in Krachi East District with allocation of the quota released to the Health Directorate for their programmes.
He said the lack of direct guidelines for specific activities the 0.5 per cent was to be used for and failure to deduct from source as other DACF deductions were constraints in accessing the grant.
The Officer noted that specific guidelines were being worked on as well as proposals for the malaria grant to be deducted from source to prevent contradiction between Health Directorates in these Districts and planning sections.
Mr Adortse said one of the key activities Assemblies do with the grant were to sensitise community members to adhere to sleeping under treated nets and practice the test, treat and track strategy.
He said as a country, malaria cases were getting worse with more people getting the diseases and self-medicating, while more people especially pregnant women and children did not sleep under insecticide mosquito nets, which was generally bad.
The Officer commended the partners in playing their roles such as sensitising and facilitating dialogues in their communities.
The P4H is a five year USD 3.7 million project being executed by SEND GHANA in collaboration with Penplusbytes, a governance non-governmental organisation and the Ghana News Agency, which was to assess the progress of projects in the various communities quarterly.
The DCMCs gave reports on activities in their areas involving Community Health Management Committees (CHMCs), Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WSMTs) and Covid-19.
Mr Prince Amponsah, Focal Person from the Nkwanta South District, noted that the District had advocated for the involvement of women in communities in advocating for change and accountability.
He said there was the need to carry out more sensitisation for CHMC and WSMT members in their various communities and also monitor activities and plans to ensure their sustainability.
Mr Eben Carboo-Hartog, Field Officer, SEND GHANA, revealed that due to financial constraints and the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, some projects were not executed as planned.
He noted that the meeting would also discuss fallout, lessons learnt and the way forward to executing projects in the next quarter; April to June 2021.
Mr Siapha Kamara, Chief of Party for People for Health (P4H), noted that all financial constraints regarding the smooth implementation of projects would be addressed.
He noted that although the CIOVID-19 pandemic had affected projects outlined to be executed it was time Focal Persons “learn to live with it”.
