The ETAs, who would collect data on health delivery at the community level, would also help Ghana to meet the increasing data demand under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Under the youth in health module of the YEA, additional 19,500 community health workers have been trained and deployed across the country to work with the ETAs.

ETA module

At a ceremony to launch the ETA module in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, Mr Kobina Obu Beecham, said the programme would support the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to go digital.

With the application of technology, it is envisaged that the GHS and other stakeholders will  generate the information required for the formulation of precise health policies to enable the country to meet its health needs.

Such policies based on accurate data are expected to help meet financing needs and provide the opportunity to seek and provide basic services for those who are not being captured by the health system in its present state.

Mr Beecham explained that through community-based health data systems, the ETAs, who had been equipped with electronic devices such as tablets for the collection of data on health delivery at the community levels, would transmit the    information gathered electronically to the Ghana Health Service.

The beneficiaries of the ETAs programme, who are between 18 and 35 years will be engaged for two years after which they will exit the module.

They will work closely with community health workers in the community-based health planning and services (CHPS) and other health care centres, especially those in the rural and remote areas.

Mr Beecham said the YEA was considering the acquisition of more sophisticated electronic devices by 2017 which could help the ETA to assist the community health workers to feed information to patients, analyse and diagnose the health condition of the patients in real time.

Training

In a welcome address, the Director of Planning and Research at the YEA, Ms Matilda Antwi, said the ETAs would help strengthen community health handling processes to facilitate prompt decision making for improved health delivery.

The ETAs, who had undergone one-week training at the Kintampo College of Health and Well-Being, in the Brong Ahafo Region, would be deployed to the District Health Administration Offices across the country to work under the direct supervision of the district health information officers.

Donation

To facilitate the work of the ETAs, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), One Million Community Health Worker Campaign, through their Ghana branch, donated 500 tablets, 500 uniforms and 1,000 water-resistant knapsacks to the YEA yesterday during the launch.

The One Million Community Health Worker Campaign will also assist the ETAs with technical support and regular training of the beneficiaries.

Before handing over the items, the Country Director of One Million Community Health Worker Campaign, Ghana, Chief Nathaniel Ebo Nsarko, said the support formed part of efforts of the organisation to advance sustainable development in communities across rural Africa using innovative solutions.