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🇬🇭 Ghana /Health & Science

Ghana Clarifies Tricycles Are Not Ambulances, But Healthcare Support Vehicles

From Daily Graphic · (5d ago) English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Ghana Health Service and President Mahama clarified that newly deployed tricycles are for community health outreach, not ambulances.
  • Viral social media claims falsely portrayed the tricycles as emergency vehicles.
  • These tricycles, along with motorcycles, are part of a strategy to improve healthcare delivery in remote areas, carrying vaccines and enabling screenings.

In Ghana, a wave of misinformation spread on social media falsely identified newly deployed tricycles as ambulances. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and President John Dramani Mahama have moved swiftly to correct this narrative, emphasizing that these vehicles are intended for community health workers to reach remote villages. This clarification is crucial for public understanding and to prevent undue alarm or misallocation of resources.

There are more than 6,000 CHPS compounds in Ghana. Among the equipment we presented were motorcycles and tricycles. Let me be clear, those tricycles are not ambulances.

— President John Dramani MahamaClarifying the purpose of the tricycles deployed under the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.

President Mahama, speaking at a sod-cutting ceremony, directly addressed the misconceptions. He stressed that the tricycles, alongside motorcycles, are part of the Free Primary Healthcare initiative's strategy to enhance service delivery at the community level. These vehicles are not designed for emergency response but rather to facilitate the work of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds. The President highlighted that the tricycles are equipped with specialized compartments to maintain the cold chain for vaccines, ensuring their efficacy during outreach and immunization programs.

These FPHC tricycles are not ambulances and have not been procured to be used as such. It needs to be emphasised that for some years now, the Service has a record of successfully deploying such tricycles for outreach services.

— Dr. Samuel Kaba AkoriyeaDirector-General of the Ghana Health Service, refuting claims that the tricycles are ambulances.

The deployment strategy is tailored to regional needs. In northern Ghana, where terrain allows, motorcycles are being distributed. Conversely, in southern areas where motorcycle riding might be less feasible for health workers, tricycles are provided. This pragmatic approach ensures that healthcare workers can effectively travel between communities, conduct essential screenings for conditions like hypertension and diabetes, and deliver preventive healthcare services. The GHS statement underscored that this initiative is a strategic intervention for 'last-mile' service delivery, particularly vital in rural, peri-urban, and hard-to-reach communities across Ghana, ensuring that essential health services are accessible to all citizens, regardless of their location.

And so at the back of the tricycle they have a compartment where they can keep vaccines… to keep the vaccines cool.

— President John Dramani MahamaExplaining the functional design of the tricycles for vaccine transport.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Daily Graphic in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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