The Minister of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, has announced that the government will no longer wait for donors to finance key health projects that have stalled.
Instead, funds have been directed from the budget to resume work on these projects, including the La General Hospital and the Komfo Anokye School of Maternity and Children's Block in Kumasi.
Dr Adam made this declaration at the opening of the 2024 Ghana Health Sector Annual Summit in Accra, according to a Graphic Online report.
He emphasized that the government considers it crucial to ensure that key health facilities do not stall due to economic challenges, as this would adversely affect healthcare delivery to ordinary Ghanaians.
The summit, themed "Quality healthcare delivery: A catalyst for achieving Universal Health Coverage in Ghana," brought together health, finance, and social development experts, as well as health advocacy groups, to address various issues, including financing essential medicines and improving the nation's capacity to manufacture medicines.
Dr Adam highlighted the government's commitment to completing more projects in the health sector, including COVID-19 hospital projects. He noted that while progress has been made, there are still significant gaps in providing quality healthcare that must be addressed.
Representing the President on Health, Bernard Okoe Boye, stated that the Ministry of Health is working to consistently deliver high-quality healthcare and build a more efficient healthcare system to respond to public health emergencies.
In a solidarity message, Bright Amissah-Nyarko, President of Civil Society Organisations in Health, called on the President to complete at least 10 of the Agenda 111 projects and operationalize them by 2025.
The government remains committed to sustaining investment in healthcare to address these challenges and maintain progress in the sector.
Dr Adam further announced that the President was working assiduously to complete more projects in the health sector, including COVID-19 hospital projects in the country.
“Our healthcare expenditure per capita is estimated to be around $75.
We compare it several times with $39 in low-income countries. But it is still lower than the average of $190 in lower-middle-income countries like ours,” he said.
Dr Adam said “notwithstanding some of the progress being made, we still have a lot of catching up to do and a long way to go. Quite frankly, there are still several gaps in providing quality health care that must be addressed.
He explained that too many healthcare professionals had worked in poorly equipped clinics while the conditions of service of health professionals also need to be worked on.
Additionally, he said, there were many challenges, particularly inefficiencies, in the supply chain systems for essential drugs and medications.
“These are the challenges we need to be poised to confront. And the reality is that the shortest way to address these problems and to maintain the progress being made in the sector is to sustain investment in health care. The Ministry of Finance will continue to do our part,” he said.
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Mohammed Amin Adam