Hinterland must be taken into consideration when rolling out programmes - Minister Lawrence

Hinterland must be taken into consideration when rolling out programmes – Minister Lawrence

Sep 22, 2019 News

Minister of Health Volda Lawrence during consultations for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Biennial Work Plan, admonished the managers and directors of the different departments within the ministry, to consider how effective and efficient the programmes embarked upon will be when introduced to the hinterland region, seeing that they have a lot of constraints.

Minister of Public Health, Ms. Volda Lawrence

Minister Lawrence said “I ask you to focus on this particular segment of our society because we will have to make some extra efforts, [ and to the department heads] when you think about rolling out all the programmes you are thinking about, ask yourselves, managers and programme directors, how the people in the hinterland are going to get it done?”
The minister said that there is a great expectation for her ministry to provide equitable coverage and easy access to public health facilities. She wasn’t speaking about the facilities on the coast where you could hop into a bus or taxi or even drive to get there. She was referring to those in the hinterland.
The minister pleaded with the coast-landers to stop being selfish just for a little bit and think of ways to put together a work programme that will impact significantly on people/ citizens who do not have at their immediate disposal the transportation and infrastructural luxuries that they on the coast have.
She went on to say that in some cases it takes four to six hours to get to a health facility. This takes a toll on full coverage of immunization and pregnant women may even miss their clinic dates.
She went further to say at times after lengthy travelling the condition they may arrive in may require referrals to another facility and that in itself poses other problems. She pleaded with the managers and programme directors to consider all of these factors before making decisions so that the impact can be taken into consideration and properly assessed.

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