The Japanese government has signed a grant agreement with four local government authorities to construct school blocks and community-based health planning and services (CHPS) compounds worth $289,410 in the beneficiary areas.
They are the Offinso Municipal Assembly in the Ashanti Region, the Pru West District Assembly in the Bono East Region, the Wassa Amenfi Central District Assembly in the Western Region, and the education directorate of the Techiman North District Assembly in the Bono East Region.
As part of the agreement, Offinso and Pru West will get a CHPS compound each, while Wassa Amenfi Central and Techiman North will get a school block each.
The CHPS compounds would include nurses’ quarters, boreholes and sets of medical equipment and furniture, while the classroom block would have toilet facilities, urinals, borehole and furniture.
The Japanese Ambassador, Mochizuki Hisanobu, signed the agreement with representatives of the beneficiary assemblies at his residence in Accra yesterday.
The project forms part of the Japanese government’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project, a programme that provides non-refundable financial assistance to NGOs, hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit associations.
Commitment
Mr Hisanobu explained that the support was a confirmation of Japan’s commitment to addressing critical human security concerns.
“Over the past 30 years, the GGHSP has provided support to various sectors towards sustaining basic human needs and improving quality of life for all,” he added.
The ambassador said that the construction of the CHPS compound would help reduce some of the challenges pregnant women went through by travelling long distances on foot and motorcycles to access health care.
“It is expected that cases of maternal mortality will reduce significantly and some common diseases like malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea will be properly treated at the CHPS facility,” he said.
The ambassador added that the construction of the school blocks would also help to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
“It will also mean that children would no longer walk long distances to school, and this will help increase school attendance and enrolment,” he said.
Mr Hisanobu urged all stakeholders to work together to ensure the successful implementation of the project to help improve the well-being of the people.
Gratitude
The District Director of Education at the Techiman North District Assembly, Theresa Kpebu, expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for its intervention, especially in the area of education, which she said would help beneficiary children realise their potential.
The director stressed the need for every child to access quality education and entreated other stakeholders to also extend support to the sector to realise that goal.
Source: graphic.com.gh
