LACK OF PROFESSIONALS IN EDUCATION AND HEALTH SECTORS IN W/R

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Enchi
Education and health facilities in the Aowin Suaman District and 16 other districts of the Western Region are seriously in need of nurses and teachers.
Some districts are so deprived that some health and education professional consider posting to these communities as punishment compared to their colleagues in the cities, who receive the same salary and allowances like them.
The said communities in various districts did not have access roads, electricity, water, decent accommodation, transportation among other poor social infrastructures not even telephone receptions.
As a result the demand for quality education and health have become the fervent needs of the people especially women and children.
Interestingly, the people in these deprived communities are those who produce the country’s chunk of cocoa, timber, gold, bauxite and manganese as well as food stuff to feed the endowed minority in the cities and towns.
Pregnant women in some of these communities die on their way to health centers, their children had to walk miles across weak bridges and streams before getting to school.
In some of the communities, the people have to cover the journey of more than seven hours walk to access education and health care.
The consciousness of children waking up in the morning and going to school in the cities are not there in these communities in the Western Region as most of these children are in smaller communities and wake to see people going to farm.
However, the District Chief Executive for Aowin Suaman, Mr Oscar Ofori Larbi vow to reverse the trend by offering opportunities to qualified indigents to be trained at the cost of the assembly.
He said since it was difficult to get the professional to come to district, it was best for them to train people from the communities in the district.
Mr Larbi said the indigents are the last hope of the people therefore, “if the indigents will train by the assembly and after the training they will deny their own people then they would be far from the solution to the problem of shortage of professional to handle the schools and health centers.
The DCE made this known when he toured various communities and said “Students who have passed their mathematics and general science, English and are interested in these professions should not hesitate to move to the assembly.”
“The assembly will also counsel the beneficiaries on the need to return to their communities to help their people,” he said.
He said it was important that the people who would be interested in the package by the assembly were told that the district would need them after their training.
The DCE said many of these young people qualified for the training but due to some form of financial constraints they were not able to apply for these training institutions.
He expressed the hope that chiefs, parents and people in the communities in the district would take advantage of the offer to step forward with the qualified candidates for training.
When contacted the Western Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Linda Vanotoo acknowledged the problem and said it is the case everywhere.
She said they were doing everything possible to save the situation.