By Binta Jaiteh
A Citizen Report Card (CRC) survey conducted by the Centre for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CEPRAS) at the Kerewan Area Council (KAC) has revealed that 46% of respondents considered the cost of health services expensive.
The CRC is a participatory social audit tool based on users’ feedback on public service delivery. It engages citizens in assessing the quality of public services such as health, education, public transportation, water, waste management, and other public services. The data collectors conducted face-to-face interviews as opposed to telephone interviews.The data collection exercise, which lasted for three weeks, was conducted by a team of experienced data collectors.
The survey showed that 46% of respondents in KAC considered health services to be expensive while 37% perceived it as neither expensive nor cheap. It also revealed that 12% of respondents regarded it as cheap, 3% as very expensive, and 1% as very cheap.
“It is evident that Kerewan recorded 47% of respondents perceiving the quality of health services as fair, 25% as good, 25% as poor, and 3% as very poor,” the findings indicated.
“There exists a considerable variety of opinions, regarding the cost of health services. While a significant portion of respondents find the cost to be expensive, a notable proportion also consider it to be neither expensive nor cheap. The presence of diverse perceptions on the affordability of health services suggests the importance of addressing this issue to ensure that healthcare remains accessible and equitable for the residents in Kerewan,” the survey’s report said.
The report stated that these findings emphasized the urgency of addressing these issues to foster transparency, efficient resource allocation, and effective communication between local councils and communities.
“Ultimately, this CRC survey report serves as a call to action for both local authorities and higher-level institutions to prioritize improvement in the quality of services provided to citizens in Kerewan,” the report stated.
The team assured that the final round will cover Kuntaur, Janjabureh, and Basse area councils.
