Children and pregnant women in Kurugu, in the West Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region, are bearing the brunt of poor healthcare delivery amidst an unequipped community-based health planning and services (CHPS) centre.
Pregnant women in labour have to travel 17 kilometres on a tricycle (MotorKing) to a health centre in Wulugu for delivery services. Those who have no access to a tricycle have to travel on a motorbike on the bumpy road from Kurugu to Wulugu.
The road road is muddy during the rainy season. The health centre in Wulugu is the closest health facility to Kurugu.
Emergency cases are referred to the government hospital in Walewale, which is about 23 kilometres from Kurugu. There have been cases of women being delivered of their babies while on their way to the government hospital in Walewale and the health centre in Wulugu.
The CHPS centre in Kurugu was built in 2016 to provide healthcare services to residents. It has only two beds to serve men, women and children. It has two benches which sometimes serve as beds when there are cases which require the patients to be admitted to the facility. The facility lacks laboratory equipment and adequate drugs for prescription.
Dati Sulemana is a pregnant woman in Kurugu. She said, “our main challenge here is that if you want to go to Wulugu, you have to look for a motorbike to Wulugu for healthcare services. It is either you get the motorbike or you start walking while waiting for passers-by to pick you up on your way. As for suffering, we are going through a lot.”
Anifa Abu is a pregnant woman who complained to Asaase News that she once delivered on her way to the health centre in Wulugu.
She said, “I was in labour with pains when they carried me in a MotorKing to the Wulugu health centre but I delivered on my way without getting to the facility. Now, I am carrying a heavy pregnancy again but our facility cannot be accessed unless Wulugu. We are worried and afraid because we will continue to suffer as pregnant women in this community.”
Reporting by Dokurugu Alhassan in the North East Region
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