The Eastern Regional Health Directorate on Wednesday, 27th August 2025, held its 2025 Half-Year Performance Review in Koforidua. It was under the theme “Improving Access to Primary Health Care: A Pre-requisite for Achievement of Universal Health Coverage.”
The review brought together health professionals, district directors and other stakeholders to reflect on the region’s progress in achieving universal health coverage.
The Regional Minister, Mrs Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, emphasised the importance of primary health care in achieving universal health coverage, highlighting the government’s initiative to introduce free primary health care to improve access to quality health services at the community level.
The minister commended the Regional Health Directorate and health professionals for their dedication to ensuring the health and wellbeing of the people. She noted that primary health care is the foundation of every resilient health system, reducing the burden on hospitals, promoting healthier families and contributing to national prosperity. According to her, when primary health care is strong, communities are healthier and the nation benefits as a whole.
However, Mrs Awatey expressed concern over the region’s institutional maternal mortality ratio, which increased from 116 per 100,000 live births to 117 per 100,000 live births. She emphasized the need to identify risk pregnancies, demonstrate ideal management of pregnant women during labour, and exhibit desirable attitudes in service delivery to halt maternal mortality. The minister urged health workers to prioritize the care of pregnant women and ensure that every life is saved.
The minister also touched on the surge in non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and mental disorders, and urged health workers to be vigilant in addressing these conditions. She assured them of the government’s commitment to improving health infrastructure, the recruitment of needed manpower, and the provision of logistics for efficient and quality health service delivery.
According to her, the government remains committed to achieving universal health coverage, and the Regional Coordinating Council will continue to offer support and collaborate with the health sector to provide quality health care to the people.
The Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Damien Pungunyire, added his voice to the minister’s, stressing that primary health care is the foundation of a resilient health system and the most effective pathway to achieving universal health coverage. He said over the past six months the region has made strides in maternal and child health, disease surveillance, immunisation and health promotion activities.
According to the Regional Director, the percentage of babies breastfed within the first hour after delivery improved from 96.5 per cent in 2024 to 96.9 per cent during the same period this year. This, he attributed to the tireless education and advocacy efforts of the midwives and public health team.
Dr Pungunyire said the region also recorded an improvement in OPD per capita from 1.4 in 2024 to 1.5 in 2025. This can be attributed to the commissioning of five new hospitals, which have expanded access and reduced pressure on the existing facilities.
He called for more enhanced community engagement and health education, as well as stronger partnerships with MDAs for infrastructure expansion, in order to save and improve lives.