The Ahafo Ano South West District Health Directorate in the Ashanti Region has successfully organised its 2025 Full-Year Health Performance Review Programme aimed at evaluating the district’s healthcare performance over the past year and identifying strategic measures to further strengthen service delivery.
The review meeting, held at Mankranso, brought together health professionals, administrators, stakeholders, and community representatives to critically assess the performance of the district’s health sector and deliberate on ways to improve healthcare outcomes for residents.
The annual performance review forms an essential component of the district health directorate’s monitoring and evaluation framework. It provides an opportunity for health authorities to examine the effectiveness of programmes and interventions implemented throughout the year while assessing the performance of health facilities across the district.
During the meeting, participants carefully reviewed key health indicators and analysed data relating to various areas of healthcare delivery, including maternal and child health services, disease prevention and control, public health education, community outreach activities, and the overall performance of health institutions within the district.
The programme also served as a platform for the district health directorate to highlight significant achievements recorded during the year under review. Health officials noted that despite numerous operational challenges, health workers across the district continued to demonstrate remarkable dedication and commitment to providing quality healthcare services to communities.
Another key feature of the programme was the recognition and celebration of outstanding health professionals who have distinguished themselves through exceptional commitment, professionalism, and dedication to duty.
Among the award recipients, Evangeline Brakoa Kwarko received the Best Midwife First Runner-Up Award,Freda Asante Best Nurse Runner up position while Ms. Winnifred Gyamfi was honoured as the Outstanding Customer Care Staff. Promise Hannah Oduro received the Outstanding Customer Care Staff First Runner-Up Award, and Mr. Michael Kuffour was adjudged the Best Nurse.
In the support staff category, Leticia Kusi Gyamfua received the Best Support Staff Second Runner-Up Award, while Shadrack Kwabena Adjei was recognised as the Best Support Staff. Gladys Sarfowaa was also recognised for her dedication to service, while Mrs. Vivian Oppong received the Best Midwife Award.
The top honours of the ceremony went to Mrs. Deborah Okaikai Armah, who was adjudged the Overall Best Health Worker, while Victor Osei received the Overall Best Health Worker First Runner-Up Award.
Mrs. Deborah Okaikai Armah,Overall Best Health Worker,
Speaking to the media after receiving their awards, the awardees expressed their appreciation to the district health directorate for recognising their dedication and commitment to duty. They indicated that the awards would serve as motivation for them to work even harder in providing quality healthcare services to residents across the district.
They further pledged to remain committed to their professional responsibilities and continue supporting efforts aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery within the district.
Health officials noted that recognising hardworking staff serves as a strong source of motivation for health professionals to maintain high standards of professionalism and dedication in the discharge of their duties despite the challenges they encounter.
During the programme, health workers in the Ahafo Ano South West District passionately appealed to the government to provide staff bungalows to help address the growing accommodation challenges confronting health personnel in the district.
According to the health workers, the district is largely a mining community where the cost of rent has become extremely high while available accommodation remains scarce. They explained that health workers often compete with miners for the limited housing available in the area, a situation that has significantly worsened the accommodation difficulties faced by nurses and other health professionals.
They noted that the situation continues to pose a major challenge to effective healthcare delivery in the district. Many nurses and other health staff, they said, are forced to travel long distances each day to report to work, a situation that affects productivity and discourages some professionals from accepting postings to deprived communities.
The Deputy Director of Health Services in charge of Nursing Services for the district, Madam Mary Agyei, together with some nurses, made the appeal during the 2025 End-of-Year Performance Review Programme.
Health officials at the event indicated that accommodation remains one of the most pressing challenges facing health workers in the district. They explained that even in communities where staff are willing to rent rooms, decent housing facilities are either unavailable or far too expensive for many health workers to afford.
“Where staff are willing to rent accommodation, decent facilities are not available and most often the cost of rent is too high. This discourages health workers from staying in deprived communities,” they noted.
They therefore appealed to the government and other stakeholders to support the construction of staff bungalows to help motivate health personnel and improve healthcare services in the district. They also called on traditional leaders, community members, and local authorities to support efforts aimed at securing accommodation for health workers posted to their communities.
Speaking in an interview with the media after the programme, the District Director of Health Services for Ahafo Ano South West District, Dr. Jerry Adu Amankwah, called for deeper collaboration among stakeholders to address persistent challenges in the health sector.
According to him, many health facilities in the district require urgent renovation to enhance healthcare delivery. He explained that some communities within the district are difficult to access, making it challenging for health workers to reach residents with essential health services.
Dr. Amankwah added that in many cases, motorbikes remain the most reliable means of transportation for health personnel to access such hard-to-reach communities and deliver essential healthcare services.
As part of efforts to support the activities of the district health directorate, the Constituency Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress in the Ahafo Ano South West Constituency, Mr. Domong Solomon, on behalf of the constituency executives, presented two motorbikes to the directorate.
In addition to the motorbikes, he also donated GH¢10,000 in cash to support the operational activities of the health directorate, reaffirming the government’s commitment to strengthening healthcare delivery in the district.
Mr. Domong Solomon urged the health officials to take proper care of the motorbikes to ensure they serve their intended purpose of supporting healthcare outreach, supervision, and monitoring activities across communities in the district.
He also commended the health workers in the district for their dedication and sacrifices in providing healthcare services to residents, especially those living in remote communities.
The programme ended with renewed calls for stronger stakeholder collaboration and sustained investment in health infrastructure to improve the delivery of quality healthcare services to residents across the Ahafo Ano South West District.
