Gender Ministry Presents Motor Bikes to 10 Districts

By Felix Engsalige Nyaaba

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) on Wednesday, presented 10 YAMAHA Motor Bikes to 10 selected districts to facilitate the African Health Markets for Equity (AHME), a social protection programme.

The  programme which is expected to span for five years in the selected Districts, aimed at  increasing healthcare equality within the private provider system and reduce the most vulnerable in deprived communities within the beneficiary districts in Ghana.

The beneficiary districts includes,  Ledzokuku Krowor, Ashaiman in Greater Accra region,  Ho, Adaklu in the Volta Region,  Ejisu Juaben, Afigya Kwabre, in the Ashanti Region, East Akim, Fanteakwa in the Eastern Region and  Bolgatanga and Kasena Nankana in the Upper East Region.

The AHME  programme would be implemented in the country by a consortium of partners with combine expertise of the International Finance Corporation/World Bank Health in Africa initiative; Marie-Stoppes International and PharmAccess Foundation.

At a ceremony to present the Motor Bikes to the District Social Welfare Officers,  Mr Victor Forfoe, Director of Finance and Administration, said the AHME programme would  among of others thing help improve  in identification of the less privilege persons with aid of  electronic means-test system.

According to him, AHME is expected to add of about 150,000 households, 900,000 persons and 70,000 extreme poor onto the national household data at the end of the five year  programme.

The Motor Bikes, Mr Forfoe said would  assist the district social welfare officers to reach the extremely poor in the remotest parts of the districts and register them onto the social protection programmes, especially the National Health Insurance Scheme, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty(LEAP) and others.

On his part, the Acting Director of Social Protection, Mr Richard Adjetey, stated that to ensure an effective monitoring and evaluation of the project, the Ministry through the Districts would be inaugurating both  District Social Protection Committees and Community Social Protection Committees to monitor the programme in all the districts.

He however cautioned the beneficiary districts officers not to start using the motor bikes until such committees were officially put in place to supervise the project.

Mr Adjetey said, the Motor bikes were donor-funded ones  and they must use it soley for the purpose intended and never use them to ride aimlessly in town.

Madam Phyllis Senyo, Greater Accra Regional Director of Social Welfare on behalf of the beneficiary districts expressed thankful to the Gender Ministry and the Donors for the Motor Bikes.
She said, mobility to remote areas in the districts have been the challenging jobs and assured  that, the Motor Bikes be useful and for the purpose intended.

CAPTION: Mr Victor Forfoe, Director of Finance&Administration presenting key to one of the Motor Bike to Madam Phyllis Senyo