Presby Church inaugurates c'tee on health, environment

Page 19, Jan 12, 2007

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
A SIX-MEMBER Health and Envionmental Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) has been inaugurated to oversee activities falling under the church’s health and environmental programmes.
Currently, the PCG is the third largest provider of health care in the country after the government and the Catholic Church.
It manages 39 health institutions, comprising four hospitals, 11 primary health care outreach programmes, 21 health centres and clinics, two nurses’ training colleges and one health technical unit.
The committee is, therefore, to advise on the determination of the overall policy for the running of these health institutions.
It would also advise the General Assembly of the PCG on environmental issues and negotiate with the government on all questions relating to the church’s medical work and the Ministry of Health.
The members of the committee are Dr K. O. Adade, the President of the Greater Accra branch of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Mr Moses Oduro Boateng, the Managing Director of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Mr Ben Botwe, the Deputy Director of the Food and Drugs Board.
The rest are Mr David Ntinagyei Mintah, a pharmacist, Mr William Marfo, an environmentalist and Mr Sam Appiah, the Co-ordinator of the PCG Health Services, who is a member secretary of the committee.
Inaugurating the committee, the Clerk of the General Assembly of the church, Rev Herbert Anim Opong, said the biggest challenge was the increasing demand for health sevices by rural communities in the face of dwindling donor support.
“The alarm bells have been sounding louder of late and it is about time the church identified new sources of funding its programmes,” he said.
He stated that the options might include the sensitisation of the church to make meaningful financial contributions or creating an endowment fund, which will be funded through various fund-raising efforts.
Rev Opong said that with the inception of the National Health Insurance Scheme, the various health institutions of the church were improving their internally-generated funds and, therefore tasked the committee to take steps to ensure meaningful growth of that source in order to build new infrastructure and maintain old ones.
He commended lay members of the church who put their services free of charge at the disposal of the church, adding that such dedicated service demonstrated the commitment of such members to the service of the God.
On behalf of the committee, Dr Adade thanked the church for the honour done them and promised that they would work hard to improve the health delivery and environmental programmes of the church.
He said though the task of of the committee was daunting, its members had the expertise to overcome anticipated challenges.