Dr Marion Okoh-Owusu, Western North Regional Director of Health Services has appealed to health workers especially newly trained workers to accept postings to the Western North region.

According to her, the Regional Health Directorate had put in place adequate measures to accommodate any health professional who would accept postings to the Region.

"The Region is in dire need of health professionals and we have resolved to allow anyone who wants to further his or her education after three years".

Dr Okoh-Owusu made the appeal during the 2020 annual performance review conference held on the theme, “Sustaining the gains in healthcare quality and improving service delivery targets, the role of service providers and stakeholders".

The conference would among others, assess the performance of health facilities in the Region, identify challenges, achievements and the way forward.

It was attended by District Health Directors from all the nine Health Directorates within the Region, traditional and religious leaders as well as heads of departments.

The Regional Director of Health commended health workers in the Region for their splendid performance in reducing maternal mortality to less than one percent.

She attributed the success story to the "child right feed right" campaign launched last year and promised that the programme would continue.

Dr Okoh-Owusu explained that malaria cases recorded at all out patients departments in 2019 reduced from 50 percent to 11.6 percent in 2020 due to a number of interventions put in place, including; the distribution of treated mosquito nets.

She said the Regional Health Directorate has identified maternal healthcare as a major challenge and have therefore introduced a programme dubbed "accelerated action" to help improve on maternal and new born health.

Dr Owusu said the Regional Health Directorate would engage and have cordial relationship with traditional birth attendants, adopt home visits by midwives and community nurses as well as encourage expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinics regularly.

This according to her would help to reduce maternal mortality in the Region.

She said the Region was in need of paediatricians, adding that they were particularly needed in the Bibiani, Waiwso and Enchi government hospitals.

Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, Director -General of the Ghana Health Services, who was the special guest promised to resource the Regional Health Directorate for excellent delivery of health care in the Region.

He advised Ghanaians to continue to adhere to all the COVID-19 safety protocols since that was the only way to defeat the virus.

Dr Aboagye called on Ghanaians to patronize the COVID-19 vaccine.