Residents of Kurugu in the West Mamprusi municipality of the North - East Region are calling on government to equip the only Ghana Heath Service Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound in the area.

The facility was built four years ago by the previous administration but was not equipped.

The chief said the facility has been left empty and un-operational while his people continued to suffer and die.

A pregnant woman in labour and a little boy are alleged to have died last month due to the lack of a healthcare centre.

The community with a population of over a thousand residents has been without adequate basic amenities such as good roads, electricity and schools for many decades.

The only nearby healthcare centres are at Gbeo and Wulugu but due to the terrible nature of the roads as well as transportation difficulties, the residents are unable to visit these facilities for their health needs.

About four other women are said to have suffered varied complications in their pregnancy and childbirth as a result of the situation in the community.

The chief of the community, Kurugu Naaba Joseph Banyisi Sulemana, who revealed these disturbing details to JoyNews, said about three children including his own son, have also died from childhood illnesses because they did not get vaccinated and didn't have access to the necessary treatment.

According to him, one of the pregnant women had to painfully deliver her baby while on her way to the closest health facility in Wulugu, about 15 kilometres away from the community.

Kurugu Naaba further lamented that the absence of healthcare delivery services and other public services in many parts of his traditional paramountcy seem like signs of neglect of his people by government.

One of the residents of the community, an eight-month-old pregnant woman, Bintu Sule, called on government to equip the facility as it was urgently needed by the community.