As chiefs, health officials and residents gathered to commission a new CHPS compound at Bulee, the Member of Parliament for Wa East Hon. Godfred Seidu Jasew used the ceremony to issue a blunt, emotional appeal to President John Mahama and the Health Minister: “Wa East has over 120,000 people and still no district hospital. That is an indictment on us all.”
The commissioning of a new community health clinic at Bulee brought relief and renewed frustration in equal measure this week, as leaders celebrated a small victory for primary healthcare while demanding long-promised hospital infrastructure for Wa East District.
Cutting the ribbon on the CHPS compound, the MP for Wa East, , told a crowd of traditional leaders, health workers and residents that the facility was born out of desperation. For years, the Kulepong Health Center has been the sole referral point for more than 16 surrounding communities, creating dangerous overcrowding.
“The pressure on the Kulepong facility is so high that many of our patients are afraid to even go there,” Hon.Jasew said. “People were dying needlessly from malaria and childbirth complications because they could not get timely care. This satellite clinic at Bulee will absorb some of that pressure and give our people unimpeded access to quality primary healthcare.”
But the MP was clear: a CHPS compound is not a substitute for a district hospital. Wa East remains the only district in the Upper West Region without one — a fact he called “a huge indictment on our region.”
He pointed to stalled projects that could change that reality. The Agenda 111 hospital earmarked for Funsi remains incomplete, while plans to upgrade health facilities at Gurungu and Loggu to polyclinic status are “advanced but not done.”
“Our strategy is simple,” Hon.Jasew told the Director of Health Services. “Primary healthcare should be the priority so that no one dies from malaria or childbirth. These CHPS compounds are critical infrastructure to achieve zero maternal and infant mortality. But we still need a district hospital.”
Turning to District Chief Executive and Assembly Member Phillip, the MP made a direct request: “When you leave here, tell the Regional Minister, tell the Health Minister, tell the President — Wa East is complaining. Our people are appealing seriously. We deserve a district hospital.”
The new Bulee clinic is expected to serve a cluster of communities along what the MP described as a “critical corridor” with poor road access, limited electricity, and weak telephone networks. He pledged to work with the District Assembly to improve those services, saying healthcare alone is not enough if patients cannot reach the facility.
Health officials at the ceremony commended the technical team behind the CHPS expansion strategy, noting that Wa East’s population — estimated at over 120,000 — has been “struggling for healthcare service accessibility” for years.
Traditional leaders who graced the short but significant ceremony thanked the Assembly for honoring the invitation to “solve this critical problem,” while urging central government to fast-track the Funsi hospital and polyclinic upgrades.
For now, the Bulee CHPS compound stands as both progress and protest: a new frontline against preventable deaths, and a reminder of the bigger infrastructure gap Wa East says it can no longer wait