Upper West Regional Health Directorate

27/07/2025

26/07/2025

Let's prevent malaria.

Together, we can make this happen.

Children from 3 to 59months old are eligible to take this drug.

Ghana Health Service

24/07/2025

FAMILIARIZATION VISIT BY REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF HEALTH SERVICE TO UPPER WEST REGIONAL HOSPITAL

After concluding his familiarization visits to all eleven districts / municipals in the Upper West Region, the Regional Director of Health Service, Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl paid an official visit to the Upper West Regional Hospital to familiarize himself with operations of the facility and interact with Management and Staff. The Regional Director was accompanied by the Deputy Director, Administration (Mr. Prosper M. Lana) and Deputy Director, Public Health (Dr. Collins Boateng Danquah).

The visit started with a preliminary engagement with the Core Management of the Hospital. The Ag. Medical Director of the Regional Hospital, Dr. Philip Baabiineh welcomed the Regional Director of Health Service (RDHS) and his team to the facility. He gave a brief profile of the 290-Bed Ultra-modern Secondary Referral Centre and stressed particularly that, the biggest challenge and threat to the hospital was the unstable power situation within the Wa Municipality. He expressed concern about the damage caused by this power instability to major equipment in the hospital and suggested the urgent need for a dedicated power transmission line to be created for the hospital to save the situation.

After the preliminary meeting with Senior Hospital Management, the Ag. Medical Director took the Regional Director of Health Service through a very comprehensive tour of the facility to enable the RDHS fully appreciate the strengths and operational challenges of the facility. It was observed during the tour that, there were some major equipment that were damaged by the power situation and were therefore not functional. The high maintenance cost of the equipment came to light and the need for the facility to be supported with more beds in the various wards was emphasized by many ward in-charges.

The tour of the facility ended with a Durbar between the In-charges / Unit Heads and the RDHS. The Ag. Medical Director, during the durbar, again emphasized the huge cost being incurred to maintain the facility’s infrastructure and medical equipment following expiration of the contract with Euroget Contractors. Staffing inadequacies in all categories was also mentioned for the attention of the RDHS. The RDHS in his comments, appreciated the great work being done by staff of the hospital to keep the standards of quality of care in the facility. He acknowledged the various constraints affecting quality service delivery and admonished staff to continue to put in their best to sustain the gains and good name the hospital had attained in just five years of existence.

The RDHS further urged Staff to prioritize routine health checks, desist from engaging in addictive lifestyles/habits and also continue to build their capacities to deliver better care.

Key issues raised by Staff during the Durbar covered the need for GHS Headquarters to reconsider the categorization of Wa Municipal as non-deprived which denies staff from enjoying early promotion concessions, the low staffing numbers in some categories, inadequate beds and equipment, need for sponsorship of Nurses and Pharmacists for specialist College programmes as well as the erratic power situation.

The RDHS addressed all concerns raised by staff and indicated his resolve to work together with the Hospital Management to attend to the hospital’s needs and critical concerns for sustained provision of high level secondary referral services to the people of the Upper West Region.

PR Unit:
Upper West Regional Health Directorate.
(0200737916)

Ghana Health Service

23/07/2025

Regional Director of Health Service Pays Visit to Nandom Municipal

The Upper West Regional Director of Health Service (RDHS), Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl paid a one-day working visit to Nandom Municipal as part of his familiarization tour of the region following his re-assignment to the Upper West Region. Nandom Municipal was the last of the districts to be visited following over one month of similar visits to the other 10 districts. The RDHS was accompanied by the Deputy Director, Administration (Mr. Prosper M. Lana).
The visit began at the Nandom Municipal Health Directorate where he was received by the Municipal Director of Health Service, Mad. Rukaya Wumnaya and her team. A brief introductory meeting was held at the Municipal Health Directorate during which a brief presentation was made on the profile of the municipality, outlining key challenges of the district and successes.

Places visited by the RDHS

1. Nandom Naa’s Palace: The Municipal Director led the Regional Director of Health Service to pay a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Nandom Traditional Area. The RDHS and team were well received at the Palace by some sub-chiefs of the Paramountcy in the absence of Nandom Naa who was out of the region on other assignments. The interactions brought out issues of the need for more CHPS Compounds, staffing needs and the full operationalization of the Ko Polyclinic with support from Ghana Health Service. The Chiefs and people were very proud of the achievement of Dr. Nyuzaghl as a son of the municipality for rising to this position and wished him well in his tenure of work. Dr. Nyuzaghl appreciated the Nandom Naa and his Elders for the collaborative support extended to the Health Directorate to improve health and pledged his commitment to partner with traditional authorities to further improve the health situation in the region.

2. Nandom Municipal Assembly: The RDHS also visited Nandom Municipal Assembly where the Municipal Coordinating Director(MCD) received the team on behalf the Municipal Chief Executive who was on official duties in Accra. The MCD recounted the support given by the Assembly so far to the health sector to improve access to health delivery and also support with operational logistics. It was heartwarming to see that, the Assembly had started the construction of a permanent Municipal Health Directorate office under the SOCO Project and due to be completed by end of 2025. The RDHS expressed his deep appreciation to the Assembly for the various supports and hoped that, the relationship with the Health Directorate will be strengthened in the interest of improving the health of the people. A visit was made to inspect progress of work on the MHD Office building.

3. Nandom Midwifery Training School: The visit to the Midwifery Training School provided the RDHS the opportunity to inspect the school’s infrastructure and understand their operational challenges. The Principal of the school mentioned their key challenges to include need for more infrastructure especially a dining hall and fence wall to enable them renew their accreditation with GTEC. The RDHS commended the school management for the efforts made in putting up some structures using IGF and indicated his readiness to advocate for more infrastructure for the college to improve teaching and learning. He indicated his readiness to support the school with Tutors and include them in GHS Training programmes to update their knowledge in some areas.

4. Tour of Nandom Hospital and Staff Durbar: The RDHS was taken through a thorough tour of all units and wards of the hospital for him to half first-hand view of the situation in the facility. He highly commended the hospital management for using IGF to embark on massive renovation of almost all the buildings in the facility as well as other initiatives to improve quality of care to clients. The Medical Superintendent, Dr. Sebastian Yidana presented a brief profile of the 59 years-old hospital and mentioned challenges to include lack of some critical equipment such as Anaesthesia Machine, ventilators in the theatre, land encroachment legal challenges and uncompleted structures in the hospital.
The staff durbar was successfully held and the key issues that came up were the increasing rate of Staff Attrition/transfers, motorbikes inadequacies, infrastructure needs and more equipment to replace very old ones. The RDHS commended the staff for the wonderful work they were doing and indicated his commitment to work with the hospital management to help address the numerous challenges of the facility. He admonished staff to prioritize their health, stay away from an addictive behaviours and need to follow procedure in study leave applications.

PR Unit:
Upper West Regional Health Directorate.
(0200737916)

Ghana Health Service

22/07/2025

MPOX Update as at 18th July 2025

16 new cases recorded, bringing the total confirmed cases to 234.

MPOX spreads mainly through close contact with someone who has the infection.

To prevent it:
🟩 Avoid close contact with infected persons
🟩 Wash hands regularly with soap and water
🟩 Avoid touching rashes or body fluids
🟩 Use protective gear when caring for a sick person

Report symptoms early and seek medical care.

21/07/2025

Get ready for the 2025 Health Research Dissemination Forum.
A national platform spotlighting the ideas and innovations shaping the future of Universal Health Coverage.

Theme: Research for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Innovations and Sustainability.

Date: 12th – 14th August 2025.

Register now: https://bit.ly/43Ze3x9

Health Research Dissemination Forum, advancing health through research.

21/07/2025

21/07/2025

18/07/2025

18/07/2025

*Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl Pays Working Visit to Wa East District*
The Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS), Dr. Josephat Nyuzaghl, has embarked on a working visit to the Wa East District as part of his ongoing familiarization tour of the Upper West Region. The visit aimed to enable him gather firsthand information about the district’s health system to inform resource distribution and strategic planning at the Regional Health Administration (RHA).

Dr. Nyuzaghl was accompanied by key members of the Regional Health Directorate, including Mr. Prosper M. Lana, Deputy Director of Administration, and Dr. Felix Opare Edu, Regional Chief Pharmacist, who provided technical support during staff interactions.

The Ag. District Director of Health Services Dr. Alex Bapula, led the team through several key health facilities and stakeholder institutions within the district. The areas visited included:

Manwe CHPS Compound
Bulenga Health Centre
Katuo CHPS Compound
Wa East District Assembly
St John's Hospital (CHAG)
District Health Directorate

At each stop, the RDHS interacted with frontline health staff, commended them for their dedication despite the challenges they face and encouraged them to continue prioritizing client-centered care.

During the visit to the Wa East District Assembly, the team was received by the Coordinating Director, Mr. Musah Yussif, who stood in for the District Chief Executive (DCE), who was away on official assignment. The Coordinating Director highlighted key projects done for health in the region over the years and pledged to construct two new CHPS compounds as well as undertake renovation works at the Bulenga Health Centre. The RDHS commended the Assembly for the support to the health sector in the district while calling for more support especially indicating his plans to help upgrade Bulenga Health Centre to a Polyclinic status with support from the Assembly.

The team also visited St John's Hospital ,a CHAG facility to assess its operations.

A brief staff durbar was held at the District Health Directorate, where Dr. Bapula presented a profile of the district and pointed out some challenges affecting service delivery due its very vast and deprived nature.

In his remarks, Dr. Nyuzaghl expressed gratitude to staff for their resilience and service to the people in very deprived settings.He encouraged health workers to pursue further education but reminded them to obtain the necessary approvals from their DDHS.

The RDHS also stated the importance of staff welfare, particularly addressing concerns about drug and alcohol use. He urged staff to take their personal health seriously by undergoing regular health screenings.

The session concluded with an open forum where staff raised questions and concerns, all of which were addressed by the RDHS and his delegation.

The working visit ended with a brief stop at the Wellembele Polyclinic in the Sissala East Municipality, where Dr. Nyuzaghl once again engaged with staff, toured the facility and reinforced his message of client-centered care. He pledged to prioritize his support to the facility to help attain the status of a primary hospital in the course of time.

PR Unit:
Upper West Regional Health Directorate.
(0200737916)

Ghana Health Service