‘Is This the Change You Want?’ Sankpala Health Facility Sparks Concerns

Sankpala health center 

Residents of Sankpala in the Yapei-Kusawgu Constituency are raising concerns over the condition of their local health facility, with questions being asked about access to quality healthcare and development priorities in the community.

The concerns have emerged from images and videos showing the reported condition of the Sankpala health centre.

Sankpala is part of the Yapei-Kusawgu Constituency, represented in Parliament by Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, who also serves as Minister for Energy and Green Transition.

For residents, the condition of the facility raises practical questions that go beyond politics.

What happens when a person with a disability needs to access the facility?

What happens when a patient requires urgent referral and an ambulance has to reach the health centre?

What about residents who are sick but do not have motorcycles or other means of transportation?

And if the condition of the facility makes access difficult, how does that affect pregnant women, children, older persons and people living with disabilities?

These are questions that residents and stakeholders may want answered.

The concerns are particularly significant because access to functioning primary healthcare is an essential part of community development. Ghana Health Service identifies health centres and CHPS compounds as facilities providing primary healthcare services across the country.

Development priorities under scrutiny

The condition of the Sankpala facility has also triggered a wider political conversation about development priorities in the constituency.

Some residents and political commentators are comparing the state of the health facility with other projects and initiatives associated with political leadership in the area.

One example being raised is an animal-farming project reportedly located opposite Buipe Senior High School.

However, Gonja Pulse has not independently verified the ownership, cost, funding source or current status of that particular project. Those details should therefore be established before they are presented as fact.

The comparison nevertheless raises an important public-interest question:

Should communities still struggling with basic health infrastructure be satisfied with the pace and distribution of development projects?

That question is ultimately one for residents, local authorities and their elected representatives to debate.

What does the MP say?

The concerns also provide an opportunity for Dr John Abdulai Jinapor and the relevant health authorities to respond.

This is particularly important because health infrastructure projects are already being pursued elsewhere in the constituency. For example, Gonja Pulse recently reported on the planned upgrade of the Yapei-Quarters CHPS Compound into a modern health centre, with the project expected to be completed within six months. The intervention was reported as being facilitated through the office of the Yapei-Kusawgu MP.

The question from Sankpala residents is therefore straightforward:

When will their health facility receive the attention it needs?

For a community seeking better healthcare, the issue is not simply about political parties. It is about whether residents can access safe, functional and dignified healthcare when they need it.

As Ghana moves toward another election cycle, development records, unmet needs and responses from elected representatives are likely to remain part of the political conversation.

Gonja Pulse will continue to follow the issue and provide space for the relevant authorities and representatives to respond.

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