A two-week training workshop on the use of Geographic Information System(GIS) to facilitate health service delivery is underway in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. About 20 Health Information Officers from the various districts of the region are attending.
In his opening address, the Eastern Regional Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr. George Bonsu, underscored the importance of Geographic Information in the management of health interventions. This, he noted, helps the health personnel to quickly identify problematic areas.
It also helps the Ghana Health Service to know the common diseases prevalent in the communities and districts in the region and find their antidotes. Dr. Bonsu therefore advised the participants to take the new things they will be learning seriously and share with their colleagues.
He announced plans to extend the Geographical Information System training programme to all the 21 District Health Directorates in the region by next year to improve the health delivery service. The Course Facilitator, Foster Asante, described the GIS as a tool developed to know the public accessibility to health facilities.
It also helps to know whether Ghanaians are really living in accordance with the WHO order. He expressed the hope that the new approach being adopted will help to reduce infant, child and maternal mortality rate in the region especially among the deprive communities.
