Residents of Kojina Essakrom in the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality of the Western North Region can now access basic healthcare within their community after a newly built Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound was commissioned.
The facility ends the four to five-kilometre journey residents previously had to make for medical attention. The distance was especially difficult for pregnant women, children and elderly people, while some families also had to find money for transport before they could seek treatment.
Residents who attended the commissioning welcomed the project but said its success would depend on whether it provides dependable services. They called for the facility to be equipped with the required medicines and equipment and staffed by enough health professionals.
They said those resources would be essential if residents are to receive basic medical care without having to leave the community.
The compound includes accommodation with three bedrooms for nurses, alongside other facilities intended to support the delivery of basic healthcare services.
Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Chief Executive Dominic Gyasi said the project was part of wider efforts to improve access to healthcare across the municipality.
He urged the Ghana Health Service to ensure the facility was properly used to serve the people of Kojina Essakrom.
Rebecca Armoo, the Acting Municipal Health Director, said providing services closer to residents could encourage them to seek treatment at an earlier stage.
She added that the compound would reduce the difficulties faced by residents when trying to obtain basic healthcare.
The Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, Kofi Benteh Afful, meanwhile reaffirmed the government’s commitment to expanding healthcare infrastructure in the constituency.
He said health facilities were important to improving access to healthcare and asked residents to remain patient as the government addressed other development priorities, including creating jobs for young people.
The government’s free primary healthcare initiative is also being rolled out, with the Sefwi-Wiawso area among the districts selected to benefit.
The project began on November 28, 2025, when traditional leaders and the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Assembly cut the sod to mark the start of construction.
With the compound now operational, residents say their main concern has shifted from the distance they must travel to whether the facility will consistently provide the treatment they need.
The coming months will show the practical effect of the project for a community that previously had to travel several kilometres for basic medical attention, particularly when care was needed for a sick child, an expectant mother or an elderly person.
