Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has urged senior managers of the Service to demonstrate strong leadership, ownership, and commitment in their respective units and departments to help transform healthcare delivery in the region.

“As leaders, you should show interest, take ownership, and exhibit the leadership skills needed to move the region forward,” Dr Abubakari told senior managers drawn from all 15 municipalities and districts in the Upper East Region.

He made the remarks during the 2026 first-quarter Regional Health Management Team (RHMT) meeting and performance feedback session held in Bolgatanga.

The RHMT meeting serves as a key platform for assessing the Service’s performance at various levels. It is designed to promote effective healthcare delivery while providing an overview of the performance of districts and hospitals based on selected health indicators.

During the session, the managers—many of whom wore traditional smocks (fugu) in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s declaration of Wednesdays as “National Fugu or Batakari Day”—shared insights on health performance indicators and discussed strategies to improve outcomes in the coming months.

Dr Abubakari stressed that the leadership roles of managers should focus on improving the healthcare system for the benefit of the public, particularly vulnerable and underprivileged groups.

“We are doing this because of the poor woman and the poor child who cannot afford anything, so that we can give them the quality of life they need to survive,” he said.

The Regional Director also expressed appreciation to development partners, especially UNICEF, for their continued support to the health sector over the years. He encouraged staff to remain dedicated to improving service delivery and enhancing the image of the GHS in the region.

Speaking on emergency care and referral systems, Dr Samuel Aborah, Acting Deputy Director in charge of Clinical Care, underscored the need to strengthen emergency care and referral networks across the region.

“We plan to organize emergency care training for staff in collaboration with the GHS Institutional Care Division. For the referral system, we shall also organize training for referral coordinators,” he said.

Dr Aborah further raised concerns about the lack of feedback from some facilities receiving referred cases.

“It is a challenge. Medical Superintendents and District Directors, let’s work on this feedback. We want to improve upon that,” he stated.