The Savannah Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service held its 2026 Mid-Year Health Service Performance Review Meeting on Thursday, 20th August, at the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Damongo, under the theme “Strengthening Free Primary Health Care for Universal Health Coverage – Leaving No Community Behind.”
The meeting was chaired by Alhaji Abubakari Alhassan, District Director of Health Service for the Central Gonja District and Chairman of the Northern Regional Chapter of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association.
Delivering a welcome address, the Savannah Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. John Ekow Otoo, described performance review meetings as a key fixture on the Ghana Health Service calendar, offering the Directorate the chance to reflect on its work as a family. Quoting Socrates, he reminded participants that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
Dr. Otoo said the Directorate had remained committed to providing accessible, high-quality health care across the region despite persistent funding challenges for preventive and promotive services, a gap he said government is now addressing through the newly launched Free Primary Health Care Programme, aimed at removing financial barriers at the primary care level and improving equitable access to essential services.
While noting the region was on track on many indicators, the Director flagged several areas of concern requiring urgent attention, including
low coverage of second-year-of-life vaccines,
a high rate of stillbirths, persistent anaemia in pregnancy, particularly among women at 36 weeks, over-liberal prescription of antibiotics and
underwhelming family planning coverage.
On human resources, Dr. Otoo said the region currently has 2,885 mechanised and 334 non-mechanised health staff, though critical staffing gaps remain. He disclosed that 147 health workers were interviewed for promotion in the first half of the year, 91 were converted following upgraded qualifications, and a total of 401 new workers were recruited or which 312 were recruited by the Ghana Health Service and 89 by Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) facilities.
The Director expressed concern over what he described as a decline in professional attention to duty among some health workers, linking this to the rising number of lawsuits facing the service, including litigation the Savannah Regional Health Directorate itself has faced over staff conduct. He called on health professionals, particularly those in leadership, to treat their work as a calling and to uphold professional standards.
As the region begins rolling out the Free Primary Health Care Programme, Dr. Otoo urged all health workers to understand and embrace their roles in ensuring residents across the Savannah Region can access quality care without financial barriers.
The review meeting brought together members of the Regional Health Directorate’s Senior Management Committee, District Directors of Health Service, Medical Superintendents, programme coordinators, unit heads, health workers and members of the press.
