The technical cooperation project of the government of Japan is dubbed “Strengthening Community-based Health Services Focusing on the Life-course Approach in the three Northern Regions”.

The benefits of the project include making it possible for all demarcated CHPS zones in the Upper West and Upper East regions to provide primary health services, while increasing the number of CHPS zones in the North East, Savannah and the other regions in the North.

It also helped to enhance the quality of existing health systems by introducing quarterly supportive supervision for CHPS and strengthening the management of referral service through standardised documentation and monitoring tools.

The project was jointly implemented by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

It prioritised the life course approach by inculcating the health needs of individuals at every stage and age of life from conception to old age, as well as services spanning from maternal and reproduction health to the prevention and early detection of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health have recommended the scaling up of the project nationwide.

Dissemination forum

At a dissemination forum on the project in Accra following its completion, a Deputy Minister of Health, Alhaji Mahama Asei Seini, said the CHPS for Life project perfectly aligned with the country’s effort at strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) and the government’s quest to get essential health services closer to the people.

“The CHPS for Life project has focused on helping to make the healthcare delivery system resilient; developing cost-effective approaches for capacity strengthening and promoting the adoption of healthy lifestyles,” he said. 

He said the project had also supported the country’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda because it was also aligned with the National Health Policy, which aimed to ensure healthy lives for all.

The first Secretary of the Embassy of Japan, Osamu Ishida, said CHPS had played an important role in bridging the gap in healthcare delivery, particularly in under-served areas.

“The country and Japan have a long-standing connection, and our cooperation in the field of health has been marked by mutual trust, cooperation and progress.”

“Recognising the critical role CHPS play in the country’s healthcare system, Japan has constructed several CHPS compounds across the country under the Grants Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects.

“Also, the fact that the “CHPS for Life project was carried out within the context of the country’s health policies is an important aspect that deserves attention. Cooperation, focused at self-reliant development through self-help efforts, is one of the fundamental tenets of the Japan Development Cooperation Charter,” he added.

For his part, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, in a speech read on his behalf, said the CHPS for Life project was the fourth phase of the entire project.

“The first and second phases were implemented between 2006 and 2010 and 2011 to 2016 respectively, with the first phase focusing on scaling up the CHPS, whilst the second was targeted at the improvement of maternal and neonatal health services in the Upper West Region,” he said.