The training was facilitated by the Adaklu District Health Directorate and organised in collaboration with its implementing partner, the Agency for Sustainable Development.

Mr. Cheetham Mingle, a Research Assistant at CDD-Ghana, in his opening remarks, said the training aimed at strengthening participants’ understanding of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) concept.

He said it also sought to equip participants with knowledge on the use of scorecards as accountability tools to support governance, development, and improvements in the quality of healthcare delivery in the district, as well as to help them develop community action plans.

Mr. Mingle urged participants to take the training seriously to enable them to effectively implement their community action plans, organise quarterly meetings, and develop community scorecards to monitor the quality of services provided by their CHPS facilities. He also tasked them to organise periodic sensitisation and advocacy meetings for members of their communities.

Mr. Mingle noted that effective implementation of these activities would improve community participation and ownership of the CHPS concept, adding that the responsiveness of health authorities to the demands and health needs of communities would also be enhanced.

Mrs Pearl Edinam Baah, the CHPS Coordinator at the Adaklu District Health Directorate, who took participants through the preparation of scorecards, advised them to frequently visit their health facilities to gain a fair understanding of existing gaps within and outside the facilities. She said this would enable them to prepare authentic and unbiased scorecards.

Mrs Baah emphasised that people from all socio-economic backgrounds should be involved in the scoring process, adding that at least 50 per cent of participants should be women. She encouraged participants to capture the community’s perception of healthcare services by assessing facilities and recording their findings on the scorecards.

The CHPS Coordinator further urged them to monitor the quality of services and respond to community needs through the generation of action plans, noting that this would help both health workers and community members to better understand and address community needs and perceptions.

Mrs Baah said the process would also reinforce accountability within the healthcare delivery system to CHMCs and community members.

Topics treated at the workshop included Understanding the CHPS Concept, Strengthening Primary Healthcare at the Community Level, Instituting a Network of Practice, and the Patients’ Charter.

Present at the training were Reverend Fred Agbogbo, Executive Director of the Agency for Sustainable Development, and Madam Abigail Manu, Executive Assistant/Programmes Officer at CDD-Ghana.

A similar training will be held at Adaklu Waya for CHMC members in that zone.