The German Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development, Mr Dirk Niebel, has inaugurated a Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) with accommodation for a nurse at Gomoa Assin near Apam.
CHPS is a community-based health post established by the Ministry of Health to bring health services to the doorsteps of the people.
The facilities were funded with the District Development Fund (DDF) that is a German intervention to support district administrations to enhance the decentralization concept.
Under the DDF concept, performances of the districts are assessed under Functional Organizational Assessment Tool (FOAT) and those who meet the criteria benefit from capacity building and development funds provided by the German government.
Mr Niebel said during the first assessment for DDF in the Central Region in 2008, only Gomoa and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa Districts met the DDF
criteria and in 2009, Gomoa District once again proved itself up to the standard.
He said he was happy with the impact the DDF had made on the lives of some beneficiary districts and assured that the German government would continue to provide funds for the programme.
"The DDF has greatly impressed the German government," he said and added that his Ministry had committed fresh funding of 21 million Euros into the fund about a year ago.
Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe, the Central Regional Minister, reminded the people of the area that good health was always a product of good hygiene and good sanitation.
She appealed to German visitors to invest in the Region as it had many investment opportunities including tourism, fishing, stone quarry, food processing, salt gold mining and brick and tile.
Obrifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobea II, Paramount Chief of Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area who co-chaired the function with Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI, Paramount Chief og Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, appealed to the people to patronize the health facility to improve their health.
Obrempong Nyanful Krampah advised nurses who would be working at the CHPS compound to refer cases which would be above them promptly to the
bigger facilities.