Features
Agenda 111: Potential impetus to health growth
A few days ago, the country witnessed a sod-cutting ceremony at Trede in the Atwima Kwanwoma District of the Ashanti Region to put up the construction of 111 regional and district hospitals to make Ghana emerge a country with excellent health facilities, the best in the sub-region of West Africa, to prove in practical terms that our lovely country is ready to let the world see how determined it is to lead the way to progress.
Of the 111 hospitals being constructed, 88 are district hospitals while the remaining 13 will represent regional hospitals with two others being specialised hospitals for psychiatric purposes for the Northern and Middle Belts.
In fact, this is the largest investment ever made in the medical history of Ghana since independence and having been carried out by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the country salutes this noble man for his vision and foresight.
On the face of it, many people will not see the health significance of this huge project and its relationship to economic growth in the country. It is, therefore, important for us to examine the relationship between this project and potential economic growth of the country.
MEANING OF HEALTH
Health does not necessarily refer to the absence of disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Indeed, the absence of diseases may be important but good health depends on that we find ourselves in a situation where people will be able to enjoy the peace to create activities that lead to socio-economic development in their lives and in the nation. This means that if people are hindered by obstacles that make it possible for them to promote development in their lives, the state of health cannot be said to be good.
There is no doubt that the state of health impacts economic growth in several ways. In the first place, when hospitals exist to cater for the health needs of the people, it makes them healthy and strong to increase productivity. Good health, due to productivity of hospitals, reduces illness on the part of people and enables them to get better nutrition following the guidance given them by the hospitals through quality medical care. This helps to lower absenteeism on the part of workers.
Apart from this, it helps to improve the state of absenteeism on the part of school children, leading to better learning and stronger population. Again, the absence of enough hospitals often leads to increasing illnesses that cannot be easily addressed due to the absence of medical facilities. As a result, efforts are made in form of alternative financial investments for the treatment of the sick population.
ENOUGH HOSPITALS
The availability of enough hospitals in the districts and regions would have made it possible for such investments or financial resources to have been used for alternative projects that could have stimulated a higher rate of socio-economic development. Thus, the 88 district hospitals under construction together with the other 13 regional hospitals including those for psychiatric purposes are meant to promote socio-economic development directly and indirectly in the country.
By implications, therefore, the state of health in a country affects economic growth through productivity of labour. When people fall sick and cannot be treated by reliable medical facilities, it means that the economic burden of illnesses will thwart every effort being made for greater productivity as well as general growth in the economy. If, for example, the health of children is negative due to frequent illnesses in areas without health facilities, the burden of child health will affect the future income of people through the impact health has on education.
Here, the children will not be able to go to school regularly and the financial burden incurred by parents will adversely affect the trend of education in the country. If the trend of education is affected in this way, what it means is that the quality of population produced for the future will not be able to live up to expectation in terms of excellent labour force and high productivity.
INDIRECT IMPACT
This indirect impact is easier to understand if it is observed at the family level. By way of illustration, if a family is healthy, both the mother and father can concentrate on their jobs and earn some money which will allow them to feed and protect the family. In the same way, it will empower them to send their children to school. Ultimately, therefore, healthy and well-nourished children will be able to perform better in school. As these children perform better in school, they will be able to prepare themselves positively for higher or better income in future.
What this means is that if parents can envisage that their children have a high probability of reaching adulthood, they will give birth to fewer children and be able to invest more in terms of time and effort in their health and education.The point being made is that when families suffer from poor health leading to loss of children through death, they decide to have many children so that after a few deaths, some of the children can remain as human assets for their parents.
It is for this reason that in the past, in many farming areas, many parents gave birth to many children so that after a few deaths some of them would be available to help them on their farms. This means that there is a link between availability of medical facilities and the social norms and values of societies. Thus, the construction of the 111 regional and district hospitals, thanks to President Akufo-Addo and his administration, has a huge positive implication for the country’s socio-economic development and should, therefore, not be taken for granted. In other words, families with good health will not necessarily have to bring forth many children and the few children brought forth will not place huge economic burden on the state, thereby accelerating the rate of socio-economic growth.
88 HOSPITALS AND MORE
It is good that the construction of the 88 district hospitals has begun with the sod-cutting by the President a few days back. Indeed, the construction of the regional hospitals, like the district hospitals, is also dependent on the availability of suitable land for that purpose and their construction will begin towards the end of the year as indicated by President Akufo-Addo. The good news is that each hospital will be a modern state-of-the-art single-storey health centre, featuring patient reception and processing area, administration, pharmacy, laboratories/diagnostics, physiotherapy, public health, accident, and emergency facilities.
BIGGEST HEALTH INVESTMENT
As already indicated, this would be the biggest investment in health care in the country and for this reason, they should be monitored on continuous basis by the districts through the District and Metropolitan Chief Executives, whether already on the job or will be in-coming new executives. The regional hospitals, when they also begin later, should be closely monitored by Regional Ministers so that regular accounts on progress of work can be given to Ghanaians who happen to be the chief stakeholders in this enterprise.
President Akufo-Addo and his administration mean business so the entire nation must give them, but not listen to desperate propagandists in the country, the support needed to propel Ghana to a higher pedestal of socio-economic development.
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
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THE state of feeling rejected, could be a terrifying experience especially for those who have become used to fame. If not properly addressed, it could lead to depression and the consequences, could be disastrous.
When you are on top of your game in whatever profession you find yourself such that you become famous, a lot of people try to associate with you. The phone never ceases to ring and one is tempted to feel loved and very important.
When a disaster strikes and the fame or the money which was the source of the attraction fades away, the circle of friends and fans begin to shrink and the phone will start to stop ringing until the call stops voting completely.
You will be shocked at how people you considered friends, will no longer be calling you or pay casual visits as they used to. You will begin to notice that messages you leave after calling them and not getting a response are not replied to and that is when you begin to know who your true friends are.
One of the most popular movie stars was an actress called Sharon Stone. In an interview with one of the media houses that was published, she spoke about how people who should have come around to encourage her in her moment of depression, shunned her. The calls stopped coming.
This is what the Bible admonishes that the arm of flesh will fail you and therefore we should put our trust in God. It could be a very frightening experience and can easily lead to depression.
Human nature being what it is, people will want to get close if things are okay. Everybody wants to associate themselves with interesting things, famous people, rich people etc for mainly selfish reasons.
We need to develop the habit of putting our trust in God and relying less on human beings. The lesson we have to take along in life is that, no one marries his or her enemy so how come people who took vows that they will love each other become so hostile to each other that they want to go their separate ways in life? Such is the reality of life.
It is therefore prudent for people to recognise that, life is full of uncertainties and so there is the need to prepare your mind for uncertainties so that when they occur, they do not disorganise your mental sanity.
A lot of people have experienced situations where people who they could have sworn will never betray their trust have disappointed them when they were through challenging moments.
If there is one thing famous people should desire, it should be the ability to identify who are true friends are. Countless stories abound regarding incidence of celebrities who have lost their shine and their wives divorcing them soon after.
It is sometimes useful as a famous or rich person to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to safeguard or protect yourself from any future unpleasant surprises.
People can be very pretentious these days, it goes both ways. There is this real life story where a man married a divorced wealthy woman and convinced her to sell her house so they could build a new one together, with the excuse that people are gossiping that he is being housed by a woman.
The woman agreed and they put up a new building. After a few years the man asked for a divorce, only for the woman to realise that the land on which the building was situated, was bought in the man’s name.
This can drive a person insane, if you are not mentally tough and this happens to you. When people hear that you are homeless, a lot of your so-called friends will stop calling, so that you do not become a burden on them.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
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‘But, er …. I don’t even know your name’.
‘Paul. Paul Allotey. I’m Sarah, by the way. Paul, why don’t you leave me here, since this is the last important thing I’m doing today’.
‘Okay. Now Sarah. I was just thinking. You will be here at the cafe for about an hour. By then it will be about twelve thirty. Then, you would be thinking of buying yourself some lunch, to eat here or to take home. So if you would please allow me, I will take you to one of the nicest eating places in town, and after you have sorted that one out, then I can drop you home. Just that one errand, then I won’t bother you again’.
‘You are not bothering me at all. You are being very kind to me. And I just realised you are a mind reader too. The last item on my agenda was lunch’.
‘I’m so glad I appeared at your doorstep, just in time’.
‘Okay. Now Paul, since you say the cafe is a comfortable place, let’s go in together, and you can do your work while I get my application done’.
‘Okay, Sarah. Thanks. Let’s go’.
We got back in the car at eleven forty-five.
‘So where are we going, Paul?’
‘To Royalty restaurant. It’s a twenty minute drive away’.
‘So, do you enjoy your job?’
‘Most certainly. I won’t change it, not even to be President. And am I right to say that you are preparing to enter the university?’
‘That’s my plan. I hope it works’.
‘It will, if you are determined, and disciplined. You look very much like a disciplined person’.
‘Thank you very much’.
We arrived at Royalty in twenty-five minutes, ‘You are joining me for lunch, Paul’.
‘Thanks for the honour, Sarah. But the bill is on me’.
‘Aren’t you taking on too much for one day?’
‘I never do anything that is bigger than me, Sarah’.
Over the next hour and a half, we discussed fashion, local and international politics, and sports, as we ate and relaxed. Finally, he drove me to the shop.
‘I will never forget you, Paul’.
‘I’m glad to have been helpful. But if you don’t mind, I’ll say it again, your husband is extremely lucky. You are really beautiful’.
‘Thanks again. But do you mind if I call you sometime in the future?’
‘Certainly not. Let me write it here. I will not ask for your number, for obvious reasons. But I will be looking forward to hearing from you. And hopefully, I will see you next month, when I call to drop your bill’.
‘Okay Paul. See you then’. What a lovely day, I said to myself as I opened the front door. I closed the shop and got home by seven. I went straight to the bedroom, stood in the mirror and took a good look at myself. ‘You are a very beautiful woman, Sarah. Never forget that’. I will not forget that, again.
Over the next several weeks, Martin and I had very little to do with each other. In the morning he ate his breakfast and after a shabby ‘I’m going’, he left. He came home around eight at the earliest, ate his dinner and, already soaked in beer, went off to sleep.
He spent the greater part of the weekends at the club house with his friends, playing tennis and partying. My mind was focused on furthering my education, so I didn’t complain to him, and didn’t bother to inform my parents about what was happening. I had decided that I would only take action if he lifted his hand against me again. I spent my free time reading all manner of interesting stuff on the internet, and chatting with my sister on WhatsApp.
One evening, he came home at about eight, rushed to the bedroom and rushed out. An envelope, obviously containing money, dropped out of his pocket, and I picked it up and followed him. I was going to call him and give it to him, but I noticed that there was a young woman in the car, so I went back in, counted it and put it in a drawer in the hall. He came back after some ten minutes.
‘Excuse me, I dropped an envelope containing money. You must have seen it’.
‘Yes, I saw it. Actually, I followed you, and was about to call you and hand it over to you when I realised that there was a woman in the car, so I came back in. I counted it. One thousand cedis.
‘Well let me have it. I have to be going’.
‘I will let you have it if you will tell me who the woman in the car is, and why you are going to give her that amount of money’.
‘Listen, if you waste my time, I will teach you a lesson you will never forget. Give me the money now!’
‘Here’s what we will do, Martin. I know you will give money to her anyway, so I will give it to you, if you will withdraw the threat you just issued. But I want you to know that I will be taking some steps from tomorrow. Things are getting out of hand’.
‘Okay, I’m sorry I threatened you. Can you please give me the money’. I handed it over to him, and he ran out’.
The following morning, I waited for him to finish having breakfast, and told him I wanted to have a word with him urgently.
‘You better be quick. You know I’m going to work’.
‘Well, I want to inform you that I will inform my parents, and your parents, about the situation in this house. As I said yesterday, things are getting out of hand. You spend most of your time drinking. You get drunk every evening, and through the weekend. And you are also spending your time and money on a prostitute’.
‘How dare you? One more stupid word from you …’
‘Am I lying, Martin? You have just started life, yet you are behaving like a rich, elderly man who has already seen his children through university, and can afford a life of fun. As I said, I’m going to inform our parents. Maybe your parents can straighten you out before it is too late’.
‘Look, we can talk this evening. It’s nothing like what you are saying’. He walked away, shocked.
That evening, I was expecting to have a meaningful discussion with him, but his mother called early in the evening to offer me some ‘advice’. Her son had called to say that certain developments at home were disturbing him so much that they were beginning to affect his work.
And, ‘as a loving mother to her daughter’, she was advising me to submit to my husband, and support him in prayer, and not ‘drive him from home’. Men would always be men, and she was telling me ‘from experience’ that no matter how much time Martin stayed away from home, he would always come home to me.
She had been a young wife before, so she understood the challenges I was facing. So I could be assured that if I followed her advice, all would be well. And, of course, she didn’t allow me to tell my side of the story.
Martin came home very late, and very drunk. And from the next morning, he carried on as before. With some hesitation, I called my dad and told him all that had gone on.
‘Well, my daughter. I’m not going to say “I told you so”. I was only trying to protect you. So here’s what we’ll do. Continue doing the best you can, and try not to give him any excuse to harm you, but if things continue to deteriorate, I will take you back.
A couple of days later, my cousin Dinah arrived in Accra from Brussels, having completed her medical course. With Martin’s agreement, I went to Koforidua and spent a couple of days. I spent most of the time chatting about her experiences in the US, but we also discussed my relationship with Martin, and she endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if Martin’s behaviour did not change after two weeks Elaine informed Mom and Dad. We endorsed Dad’s decision to take action if there was no change in two weeks.
Dinah returned with me to Takoradi. Her plan was to spend a couple of weeks, and return to Accra to be posted. I called Paul Allotey, and asked if he would meet her for lunch and, if possible, show her some interesting spots. Delighted, he suggested that we meet at Royalty the next day.
I told Martin about it, to remove any possibility of future disagreement over ‘going out with men’.
‘It’s fine with me’, he said, ‘if, of all the people who could show your sister round this town, you chose a borla man. Doesn’t that indicate the kind of person you are?’
‘ First of all, Martin’, I’ve spoken to him a few times, and he comes across as a decent guy, so I think it is rather unfortunate that you are writing him off when you don’t know him’.
By Ekow de Heer
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