CHORUS Advocates for Urban Healthcare Delivery Support

A University of Ghana research consortium, Community-Led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems, (CHORUS) which is aimed at building resilient urban health systems has called on all to join hands in their advocacy for promoting healthcare delivery among poor urban settlers against rural dwellers.

According to the research consortium, Ghana’s adoption of the Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) concept in 2005 as a national policy for providing Primary Health Care to its citizenry has not received the requisite attention.

A leading member of CHORUS Ms. Ivy Akushika Agbenu also at the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana believes attention on rural settlers as far as the CHPS concept is concerned has gone far against Urban dwellers.

Explaining that the concept’s focus on ensuring that healthcare services are made accessible, equitable and efficient, and of good quality has dwindled in poor urban areas and called for immediate response.

Ms. Agbenu made these assertions at a 2-day media engagement workshop held at Dodowa near Accra by her outfit to introduce CHORUS’s activities on the global, Sub-regional, and country levels to journalists to generate their interest and increase their commitment to cover issues on urban health Systems and policies, effectively for policy – making and its implementation.

The engagement started on Thursday 20th April and ended on Friday 21st April 2023.
Throwing more light on CHORUS’s activities and partnership, she revealed that CHORUS is a six-year multi-country research program consortium (RPC) constipating of a – 4 member country, namely, Ghana, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Nigeria, funded by UK aid.

She added that the six-year program started in May 2020 and is expected to end in March 2026.

She noted that the University of Ghana team is employing a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach in reaching out to 4 communities in two Municipalities, that’s Ashiaman and La. – Nkwantanan Madina, all in the Greater Accra Region.

She mentioned that to understand the challenges within the Urban health sector and come out with better solutions, rich pictures, transect walks, and interviews have been held with relevant stakeholders starting from the local government, communities, health care facilities, and others.

Other lecturers from UG who are also members of CHORUS such as Dr. Genevieve Aryeetey, Dr. Ada Nwameme, Dr. Lauren Wallace from the Dodowa Health Research Centre, Prince Agwu from Nigeria all presented relevant topics on health-related issues and journalistic approach on issues, especially in the area of blogging.

Participants expressed their heartfelt gratitude to CHORUS and WOMEC for the knowledge acquired at the workshop.

By Margaret Esaah Boakye