SEND-Ghana Consortium with support from the USAID inaugurated District Citizens Monitoring Committee (DCMC) in the Adaklu district as part of its People for Health (P4H) project in the district.
The DCMC made up of 15 members are drawn from various groups such as Health, Traditional authorities, civil society organizations, women’s groups, and mother to mother support groups, among others. The People for Health (P4H) project in the Adaklu district which is spearheaded by Focal NGO; GOSANET Foundation seeks to offer a comprehensive and innovative approach to ensuring that P4H strengthens organizational and institutional capacities of both government and civil society for mutual accountability in health.

In his welcome address, Executive Director of GOSANET Foundation and the Chairman of the DCMC, Mr. Samuel Yao Atidzah said the technical approach for achieving the goals of P4H is based on Enhanced Social Accountability which blends SEND-Ghana’s tried and tested Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation framework with consortium members’ innovative technological approaches to increase citizens’ voices to demand improved access to quality health services.

In his presentation, Civil Society Advisor, Mr. Adamu Mukaila, spelled out the obligations and the duties of the committee and tasked them to make sure they play their respective roles in making sure that the objectives of the committee are achieved.

Mr. Mukaila who also hinted that the incidence of malaria is high, accounting for 38% of OPD attendance, 35% of total hospital admissions, and 34% of causes of deaths. He noted that only 20% of the reproductive age groups in the Northern and Volta Regions used modern contraceptives. He further cautioned against acts in ways deemed to be discriminatory against persons living with HIV/AIDS.

The Adaklu District Coordinating Director, Mr. Gershon Gley, who officially inaugurated the District Citizen Monitoring Committee on behalf of the DCE, reminded members of the Committee of their role as a link between various communities and Adaklu District Health Directorate.

He urged members of the Committee to help improve health delivery in the district by taking their work seriously in order to achieve the purpose for which the committee was set up.