A number of women from the Hwanyaso, Nsogyaso and Dome communities in the Kwawu Afram Plains South District in the Eastern Region of Ghana are calling for the provision of healthcare and other basic necessities which will make their lives more comfortable.
According to them, quality healthcare is a major concern as they have to travel for long distances before accessing it.They note that it is a big challenge, especially during emergencies such as childbirth, a situation they share had led to the death of several pregnant women who reached the nearest facility late, with complications.
Mrs. Nafisa Musah, a resident of Hwanyaso, tells SheHub.tv that there is no presence of government infrastructure in the area and she’s never seen one in her lifetime.
“No electricity, no water, no health structure in this town to this day [sic]. We have to travel several miles to get access to healthcare and it is really affecting us especially, we the women,” she adds.
She explains that the community lacks portable drinking water as the existing water is dangerous and full of harmful objects with sharp stones.
Mrs. Musah notes, “I was born here and I grew up in this place, I have never seen electricity light in this place for so many years, there are no electricity poles here let alone to talk about wires and power supply.”
The Hwanyaso, Dome and Nsogyaso communities that are about over 700 kilometers from the Capital City, Accra, lack good roads, there is no treated potable water, no mobile network and no connection to the national electricity. The communities can be accessed through the use of pontoons through the Volta Lake, and subsequently by road through Maame Krobo.
Mrs. Happy Akosuah Kwabea, a resident of Nsogyaso says apart from the electricity, water, and road issues, the community’s only basic school was in a deplorable state and lacks teaching and learning materials, as well as furniture for pupils and teachers.
She further states that due to the deplorable nature of the roads, only motorbikes ply it and charge exorbitantly, a situation she says is affecting them economically.
Mrs Kwabea therefore, appeals to the government to reconstruct the roads leading to the communities.
Madam Rebecca Asante, a petty trader at Dome is calling on the Government, District Assembly, and utility providers to urgently provide the needed amenities to the communities to alleviate the plight of residents.
She also says teachers posted to the Dome D/A Primary School had no accommodation, stressing they teach in dilapidated schools without the needed materials.
She reiterates that the lack of basic social amenities has hindered development in the community as teachers were not willing to accept postings to the town, while those who accept underperform due to lack of teaching materials.
