Dr. Agana Nsire, Upper East Regional Director of Health Services on Tuesday called on District Directors of Health in the Region to make good provision for extra expenses in their budgets and increase their buffer stock requirements in order to be able to meet extra demands in times of disaster. He noted that the flood disaster of last August-September 2007 had shown them the importance of adequacy and being prepared at all times to meet unexpected requirement in the health sector. Dr Nsire, who was speaking at a seminar in Bolgatanga on ‘Responding to the Sexual and Reproductive Health needs of Disaster victims’, asked the District Directors to include Sexual and Reproductive health issues when they write their Preparedness Work Plans for the Districts. Dr Thomas M. Afful, Builsa District Director of Health Services in a report on the effects of the flood said unwanted pregnancies were exceptionally high in the Months of October and November 2007, with six cases of girls aged between 10years and 14 years reporting pregnant while 208 pregnancies were recorded in teenagers between 15 and 19 years. There were 29 unsafe abortions. He explained that because many houses were destroyed and people had to live in camps, family entities were disrupted thus parents could no longer supervise their children. Dr Afful said about 50 to 80 per cent of good drinking water sources made up of 210 boreholes and 365 hand dug wells were contaminated. Malaria and diarrhoea cases increased. Madam Cecelia Samata Azabu, Senior Nurse, Bongo District, said antenatal and postnatal attendance in the Bongo area decreased during the last months of 2007 because transportation became difficult for the women as some of the roads were washed away. Some women also lost their clothes and could not dress well for clinic attendance. In 2005 when delivery services were free, 59.9 per cent were done in hospitals. In 2006 when women were asked to pay, 47.4 per cent deliveries were done while another free delivery package in 2007 attracted 49.1 per cent falling far short of an 80 per cent target. With Postnatal services, 90 per cent of mothers attended hospital in 2005, 98 per cent in 2006 while only 80 per cent of the new mothers in 2007 attended hospital. Mr. Makane Kane, Country Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in a speech read on his behalf by Ms Mercy Osei-Konadu, Programme Officer, explained that UNFPA’s response to emergencies and other humanitarian situations focused on promoting safe motherhood, preventing HIV infections and addressing sexual violence and other forms of abuse in order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity. He said that was one of the reasons UNFPA had sponsored the seminar and earlier sent essential drugs, supplies and equipment to the Region, to help reduce Reproductive health and gender-related risks and vulnerabilities among the most needy at the community level. “We need to move the necessary steps forward to becoming better prepared to deal with the complexities of Sexual and Reproductive Health and gender concerns, even when emergencies occur”, he said. The seminar was sponsored by the UNFPA and aimed at encouraging Health Personnel to include Sexual and Reproductive Health in their work Plans. Source: GNA