The Bongo District Health Directorate emerged as the star performer at the newly established Upper East Regional Health Performance Excellence Awards, clinching four honours across multiple categories.
The awards, initiated by the Regional Health Directorate, recognized excellence in service delivery based on scores on health indicators by the various health facilities.
Based on the 2025 performance data, Bongo outperformed 14 other Districts to emerge the top Health Directorate in the Region.
The district’s success extended to its clinical facilities in which Bongo District Hospital secured second place in the Best Hospital category, following the War Memorial Hospital in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, while Sandema Hospital took third.
In the Health Centre category, the Basyonde Health Centre in the Tempane District took the top spot, followed by the Presbyterian Health Centre at Woriyanga in the same District.
Bongo’s Zorko Health Centre rounded out the top three.
Other notable winners included the Bolgatanga East District, leading in District Health Information Management Systems data quality, followed by the Tempane and Bongo Districts, respectively.
Under the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) category, the Musidema CHPS in the Builsa South emerged first, followed by Sakaa CHPS in the Kassena-Nankana West and Pitanga CHPS in the Nabdam District.
The winners were selected following a comprehensive assessment by a ten-member committee established by Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Regional Director of Health Services.
The prizes included motorbikes, plaques, laptop computers, stethoscopes and iPads.
Mr Paschal Dongzuing, Chairman of the Awards Committee and Deputy Director of Administration at the Regional Health Directorate, explained that the scheme was designed to complement the national GHS Excellence Awards.
“The Regional Director initiated this scheme to motivate staff and facilities to provide high-quality service delivery consistently,” Mr Dongzuing stated.
He noted that while the awards were designed to cover four categories namely: Institutional, Staff, Managers, and Special Awards, time constraints limited the 2025 ceremony to Institutional and Special honours. “We are hopeful that by the next performance review, all four categories will be fully represented,” he added.
Mr Dongzuing, on behalf of the Regional Director, urged healthcare workers to uphold the Ghana Health Service’s core values, including professionalism, integrity, and people-centred service.
Ms Estella Abazesi, the Bongo District Director of Health Services, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, expressed gratitude to the committee and credited the success to her team’s resilience.
“I want to appreciate our diligent staff across the district for their sacrifices, often under difficult conditions,” Ms Abazesi said.
She noted that the recognition served as a catalyst for further improvement and vowed that her District would top all indicators in the next review meeting.
