Canan, a name that evokes images of a promised land in the Bible. But for the people of Canan, a small island community in the Afram Plains, Eastern Region of Ghana, the reality is quite the opposite.
Canan’s estimated population of 1,000 predominantly immigrant residents from Ningo Prampram is struggling with a lack of essential services.
The community lacks access to safe drinking water, Sanitation facilities, and electricity, and its residents have been without educational infrastructure until recently.
“We don’t have a school. So children here don’t go to school. Few parents who are so interested in education send their children to stay with other people in nearby towns to go to school. Because children can’t risk their lives to cross to travel almost an hour on the lake which most records storms. Even with that, it is expensive you need Ghc20 cedis to cross,” a resident told Starr News.
Despite several appeals, the government is not forthcoming with the establishment of a basic school.
As a result, a private individual in 2023 established a private basic school for children up to Class 3 to provide early childhood education to children in the Island community.
“We have Nursery, classes one, two, and three. Now we have 76 children enrolled. We aim to provide access to education for these children here because the community has no school and children here were being denied their right to education so we stepped in to help. We only hoping to get help to expand the school to NHS level” Philimon Koranteng assistant principal, of World Link Deplomatic Christian School, told Starr FM correspondent, Kojo Ansah.
The absence of health facilities is affecting healthcare access, particularly for pregnant women and children.
Women in labor are either transported across Volta Lake to Dzemani to deliver or deliver with the help of a traditional birth attendant.
“This woman, a traditional birth attendant has delivered many babies in this community. Because we don’t have a health center here, when the pregnant women are in labor at night or there is a storm on the lake hence can’t cross by boat, then she steps in to deliver them” a spokesperson for the traditional birthday attendant
Malnutrition among children and poverty remain significant concerns.
The situation at Canan reflects Ghana’s struggle to meet the sustainable development Goals by 2030 on eradication of poverty, and improved access to quality education, electricity, and health, among others.
Ghana is in a race against time to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, a global target that aims to ensure all individuals have access to quality health services without financial hardship.
However, with just six years remaining, the country’s UHC Service Coverage Index stands at around 50%, forecasting a significant hurdles ahead
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah
