Healthcare systems and mortality rates in Ghana

Countries With High Adult and Child Mortality Rates (ghana)

Countries with high adult and child mortality rates

The republic of Ghana is a presidential unitary constitutional republic and a sovereign state located on the Atlantic Ocean and on Gulf of Guinea. The country is in the frontier of the sub-Saharan Africa. Akan Kingdoms inhabited Ghana in the middle ages. These kingdoms were Akwamu, Ashanti, Bonoman and the Denkyira. There is archeological evidence that indicate people lived in Ghana before the Bronze Age. These kingdoms ruled the country up to the period of colonial rule. Before colonial time, ancient Ghana had its way of governance, culture, economy, laws, and healthcare services. During this period, traditional medicines and practitioners offered care to citizens (Powell, Tabi & Hodnicki, 2006). During the period, individuals suffered from a variety of ailments. Traditional medicines "though not as effective as modern medicines" were in use.

Most of mortality rates of Ghana before colonial time are a mystery, and this may be because Africans had other ways of communication. There is evidence from a non-professional's perspective that traditional African medicine worked. From history, one realizes that when colonial masters entered African states, they felt the effects of strange diseases. Causal effects of some of those diseases thrived only on the African continent. These means that since African survived before modern medicine and care, Traditional African medicine may be an option or even a better option (Powell, Tabi & Hodnicki, 2006). Culture also played a role in health care, some cultural practices worked to the advantage of one's body. An example is dancing, singing, and herding exercises.

Invasion from the British colonial masters brought with it challenges to healthcare. The British government came and changed the culture of the Ghanaian people, the way of life and healthcare systems. However, healthcare had become to shape when missionaries entered African countries (Konadu-Agyemang, 2000). In one case, one may analyze the influence of the colonists to healthcare in Africa. In mines where colonial governments mined, Africans state was poor; there were poor, and they were abused. At this period, the government did not keep records of dead miners. These deaths at the mines went up to the period of the Second World War; Statistics points to concealed greater incidences of deaths at the time from respiratory and pulmonary tract diseases.

Traditionally people of Ghana relied on village clerics and healers (Powell, Tabi & Hodnicki, 2006). These ancient ways of medicine relied on physical and spiritual healing. Modern way of care came with the end of World War I. Modern medicine in Ghana depends on World organizations for funds and specialist support. Presently, the Ministry of health provides healthcare services with the help of Ghana Health Services. The government manages health facilities, provide medical policies, and provide medical insurance and provision of public education. The mortality rate in Ghana is 1; 1000 male children of age one (Konadu-Agyemang, 2000).

Location

Ghana's location is on the Gulf of Guinea a few degrees to the Equator. This geographical location gives the country a warm climate. The country has an Atlantic coastline stretching over 560 kilometers. It takes an area of 92,099sq mi, and it is located to the south of the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Guinea. It lies at 4 degrees and 12 degrees to the north of latitude and 4 degrees to the west and 2 degrees east on the longitude.

Population

The populations of the people of Ghana have been on a steady increase for the last decades. This is because of improvements in literary levels and improvement of medical facilities. The population of Ghana is projected at over 25 million by the year 2012. This population figure represents 75 ethnic groups. Most of the densely populated regions in the country are the Ashanti and along the coastlines (Powell, Tabi & Hodnicki, 2006). This figure may otherwise represent Muslim, Catholic, Protestants, and Pentecostal believers.

Government of Ghana

The government of Ghana is a representation of a parliamentary democracy. The government's representation in regional and international forums is administrative heads with the president as the head, judicial heads, and foreign relations officials. The country has 20 political parties; main political parties are the provisional National Defence Council and the National Democratic Congress. The administrative units of Ghana are divided into 55 municipal, 6 metropolitan 108 zonal councils, 216 districts and 626 area councils. The judiciary system comprise of common law, as well as traditional customary law. The supreme is the highest court in the land while other courts include; high court, and courts of appeal. The country also has a foreign affairs branch. Where, many citizens of Ghana hold positions in international organizations like Kofi Annan.

Health Care Systems and Delivery

The health care system of Ghana represents the Ministry of Health, and Ghana Health Services. The healthcare system division revolves around five levels. These levels are care for health centers, regional hospitals, tertiary hospitals, clinics, and district hospitals. Funding for these departments comes from government's internal funds and funds from donors. Christian Health Associations of Ghana run hospitals and clinics in Ghana (Powell, Tabi & Hodnicki, 2006). There are approximately 200 hospitals in the country. There is also small fraction of health care services clinics offering care.

The health care system in Ghana has diverse standards, in urban areas hospitals, and health clinics have better facilities than in rural regions. In the rural areas, citizens rely on traditional medicines or travel long distances to gain modern care. The mandate of the ministry of education is to maintain the healthcare system of Ghana. The government of Ghana manages the healthcare services, constructs hospitals, and recruits workforce. Most of the health practitioners have migrated to the European market and other region of the world (Konadu-Agyemang, 2000). This migration affects the healthcare sector of Ghana since it funds for educating practitioners who migrate.

There are new healthcare concerns that have emerged in the country. Concerns on HIV / AIDS, Cancer, and Diabetes diseases in Ghana needs well trained personnel. Majority of such personnel have abilities to work on Women's health, child and maternal healthcare, cancer and other forms of healthcare. The healthcare system has agencies representing various healthcare functions. These Agencies include Ghana medical and Dental Council, The Pharmacy Council, Ghana National and Maternity Homes Board and Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives. These Agencies have institutions that train, accredit, and vet healthcare practitioners. These institutions are responsible for training medical students, nursing students, as well as students of various medical fields.

Health Care Priorities in Ghana

Ghana's health priorities border on international standards and organizations. With reference to the World Health organization and other healthcare organizations in the world, Ghana tries to improve the quality of life for all of its citizens. The priority areas for the country include areas of mental health, maternal health, and HIV / AIDS. Healthcare mandate includes containing respiratory, Diarrhea, malaria, poor nutrition and violence against women (Tabi, Powell & Hodnicki, 2006). The other priorities for healthcare in the country are reducing life expectancy and mobility. The government through funds from donor organizations and the World Health Organization (WHO) apply various healthcare interventions. The interventions with that of other organization have helped Ghana's Healthcare system.

These interventions are maternal health, nutrition by promoting breastfeeding, vaccination, and hygiene interventions. Mosquito nets distribution to regions prone to malaria is another perfect intervention. These interventions are pegged to the millennium development goals of Ghana. Effectiveness of such interventions needs the inclusion of populations. Furthermore, estimates from statistics maybe misleading making it necessary for the government to develop policy as an intervention.

Nursing Implication to Priorities

The nursing professions and other healthcare practitioners in Ghana have a role in implementing healthcare priorities. These medical practitioners provide health care in HIV / AIDS, Malaria, and Cancer in Ghana's hospitals and clinics. Practitioners assist the country formulate healthcare policies (Konadu-Agyemang, 2000). Their presence paints the healthcare system. For every medical procedure, a healthcare personnel need to be present. For the government to meet their healthcare goals, the nursing professionals have to transform. Nursing professions can meet the millennium health care goals of Ghana, by advanced technology.

Medical institutions in the country need to acquire state of the art facilities for training medical students on new procedures. This also means that hospitals and other healthcare institutions have to acquire new machine and equipments to meet growing challenges. The emerging issue of cancer, diabetes and other forms of chronic diseases affect the people of Ghana. Medical and healthcare practitioners need to be up to the challenge (Konadu-Agyemang, 2000). New skills are to be sought, value given to research and development, practitioners going back to class to hone their skill and the government offering enough funds for training, administration and offering of care.