From Ernest Best Anane
The Bright Generation Community Foundation (BGCF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has scored a first in its effort to utilise locally available and sustainable materials to manufacture an easier means of transport for the health sector.
The NGO has presented two bamboo bicycle ambulances to the Dawea Community Health Center in the Sekyere Afram Plains District.
It is part of efforts to help reduce maternal mortality in deprived communities, while promoting the bamboo bike ambulance as a viable means of emergency transport.
The project, which is being sponsored by the AU Fund for African Women, seeks to reduce maternal and infant mortalities in the beneficiary deprived communities, while facilitating community health workers in transporting their patients, as per their healthcare objectives, and to provide a source of local affordable medical transport for maternal health organisations, aid agencies and communities.
Ms. Mabel Suglo, Programmes Coordinator, explained that the NGO seeks to help to reduce the delay and cost of transportation in deprived communities to ensure better access for expectant mothers, especially, to local health facilities, by using and adapting the bamboo bicycle ambulances.
Ms. Suglo revealed that research had shown that approximately 80 per cent of maternal deaths in Ghana, like other developing countries which have high maternal mortality rates, could be prevented if women had access to essential maternity and basic healthcare services.
She also revealed that the Ghana Maternal Health Survey of 2007 indicates that the maternal mortality ratio in Ghana remains unacceptably high at 451 deaths per 100,000 live births, adding that statistics from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) also indicate that 953 women died in 2008 from pregnancy and delivery complications in our health facilities, the figure, according to the GHS, did not include women who died in communities and were quietly buried without registration.
Mrs. Bernice Kyei, Executive Director of Bright Generation Community Foundation (BGCF), gave the assurance that her outfit will always collaborate with the recipient health center to put in place an effective and efficient management system to record and analyze information to ensure the effective use of the bicycle ambulances.
According Mrs. Kyei, her organisation has manufactured 10 bamboo bike ambulances, which are prototypes, and will be delivered to health institutions in very deprived communities, with each recipient health centre being given a log book and maintenance sheet and its staff trained on how to record the information.
She said most Ghanaians from deprived communities live on less than $2 a day, with some health centers being as far as 16 kilometres away, which poses a serious challenge in emergency situations.
Mrs. Kyei indicated that during the first three months of the project implementation, data will be collected relating to the utilisation of the ambulances, and a monitoring and evaluation report produced.
She expressed her profound gratitude to the African Union Fund for African Women for the support in financing the project.
Mrs. Elizabeth Sarfo Addo, District Health Director, who received the bamboo bike ambulance on behalf of the health facility, commended the management and staff of BGCF for the kind gesture, and added that it would serve as a relief to the community and the surrounding areas where vehicles cannot reach, thereby eliminating the threat to pregnant women in labour.
The District Health Director also entreated the beneficiary women not to wait until the day of delivery before visiting the health center to prevent complications.
Samuel Oracca-Tetteh, Regional Chairman of the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in
Health, also advised pregnant women to visit health centres regularly before delivery.
He also urged the community to cultivate the attitude of maintenance culture to enable the bike serve the purpose for which they were presented, to them to help the foundation achieve its aim of reducing maternal mortality in the communities.