The Bolgatanga Municipal Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has concluded its 2025 annual performance review.
It brought together managers and senior staff to evaluate clinical outcomes and strategize for 2026 and beyond.
The review was held under the theme: “Strengthening health systems for sustainable and equitable access to quality health care: the role of monitoring and supportive supervision.”
Addressing the press after the session, Mr Alhassan Lawal, the Municipal Director of Health Services, expressed satisfaction with the year’s overall results.
Under the GHS holistic assessment, the municipality achieved a score of 4.13, placing it firmly within the highly performing zone.
A significant victory was recorded in maternal health: the prevalence of anaemia in pregnancy at 36 weeks dropped from 38.2% in 2024 to 24.4% in 2025.
“This is a negative indicator,” he said, and explained that a lower percentage reflected better nutritional and clinical interventions for expectant mothers.
He said immunization efforts also exceeded expectations as coverage for the Pentavalent 3 (Penta 3) vaccine rose from 99.3% in 2024 to 104.2% in 2025.
That, he said surpassed the national target of 95%.
Similarly, Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) coverage saw a massive leap, climbing from 53.6% in 2024 to an impressive 325%, a figure reflecting the successful enrollment of both local residents and those visiting from outside the municipality.
Mr Lawal noted that despite the gains, maternal mortality remained a critical challenge.
He said the municipality recorded 28 maternal deaths in 2025, out of which 24 occurred at the Regional Hospital, while four were recorded at private facilities.
“Maternal death is a serious concern for both the municipality and the region,” Mr Lawal noted.
He assured the public that management was implementing rigorous measures to mitigate the rates in the coming years.
He further highlighted a slight dip in Family Planning (FP) uptake, which fell to 37.5% from the 40.2% recorded in 2024, missing the 40% target.
Additionally, the directorate faced hurdles with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
While the acceptable limit for claim rejections is below 5%, the municipality’s rejection rate jumped from 2.5% in 2024 to 7.5% in 2025.
The review also ranked sub-districts based on their cumulative performance:
Plaza 1st
Bolgatanga North – 2nd
Zaare – 3rd
Bolgatanga Central – 4th
Sherigu – 5
Sumbrungu East – 6
Kalbeo – 7th
Sumbrungu West and Bolgatanga South tied.
Mr Lawal commended health workers for their dedication despite resource constraints, urging them to maintain high professional standards to further improve service delivery in 2026.
Source: PR Unit, Upper East Regional Health Directorate