The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has geared up to implement a 1 District, Doctor initiative to help give quality health care delivery in every district in the Volta and Oti Regions.

The Chairman of the Volta-Oti GMA, Dr Kweku Appiagyei Boadu-Ayeboafoh made this announcement during the maiden excellence awards ceremony to appreciate hardworking doctors in the two regions held at the Volta Serene Hotel in Ho.

According to him, aside from this initiative, the Association will also pay any doctor willing to be posted to deprived communities allowance for one year.

Dr. Kweku Appiagyei Boadu-Ayeboafoh lamented the lack of doctors in some districts in both regions, a situation he hopes to rectify in order to make things easier for members of the Association and their clients.

He urged his colleagues to accept postings to rural communities to help save lives in those areas too.

The Director of External Health Cooperation at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hafiz Adam Tahir who represented the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu noted that the Ministry is taking steps to decentralise the employment of medical officers and also encourage recognition of sacrifices of individuals.

''The Ministry is taking initiatives to now decentralise employment of medical officers, because we realized that 60% of doctors are in Accra and Kumasi and the rest of the nation are sharing the other 40%, which is not good for us and if a doctor accepts to go to deprived districts, they will only do two years after their housemanship and they will be qualified to benefit from the postgraduate scholarship," Dr Tahir said.

Dr Hafiz Adam Tahir noted that the Ministry has urged the District Chief Executives and the assemblies to attract some of the doctors by providing some amenities like accommodation as a way of making sure the doctors are well taken care of.

He noted that, due to these new policies, about 30 doctors are outside the country doing their specialisation and asked the members of GMA to get abreast with the Ministry of Health's new policies with regards to posting of doctors and other health professionals.

The Medical Superintendent of the Worawora Government Hospital, Dr Joseph Mawunyo Apeadido was recognised for his exceptional role in mobilising doctors for the Association's activities in the Oti and Volta regions, his dedication to his facility, outreach programmes as well as national activities.

Dr. Apeadido works at Worawora Government Hospital (110 -bed capacity designated Regional Hospital). He is a Senior Medical Officer, appointed as Clinical coordinator and now the Medical Superintendent with progressive ten years experience.

Concurrently, he acted as Deputy-Director Clinical Care for two years and the Head of the Covid-19 Case Management Team for the Oti Regional Health Directorate, these duties he performed creditably, making him an asset to Oti Region and Ghana Health Service as a whole.

He recently benefited from a structured medical education support from KOFIH in South Korea to partake in a six-month fellowship in emergency medicine at Inje University Hospital.

This experience made him fulfill his passion and commitment to his career ambition of specializing in emergency medicine.

Dr. Kofi Effah was recognised as the best healthcare personality of the year, sponsored by the North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Awards were presented to 15 doctors and 3 health facilities.

Mr Ablakwa was also recognised for his immense contribution to the health sector in the region and the country at large.

Tecno was the headline sponsor of the awards.