Kwaku Agyemang Manu, Minister of Health
Civil society organisations (CSOs) in the health sector have called for the development of the national policy on primary healthcare (PHC) to be fast-tracked in order for Ghana to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
According to the CSOs, the policy when finalised would provide a broader framework for the realisation of UHC in Ghana by giving direction to the provision of equitable and essential services.
They made the call at a day’s consultative meeting to solicit inputs on a draft statement to be presented at this year’s Global Conference on Primary Healthcare at Astana, Kazakhstan on October 25 to 26, 2018.
UHC is the focus of Goal 3 of the SDGs and global health experts have long recognised improvements in PHC as a key strategy to making the UHC successful.
Some empirical studies undertaken in lower middle income countries such as Ghana have confirmed that strong PHC systems lead to improved health system goals and health outcomes.
The Programmes Officer of Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), Isaac Nyampong, said Ghana currently does not have a document encapsulating the multiple packages of health services being implemented in various government programmes.
“What we have are defined multiple packages of health services, including CHPS, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), newborn health, maternal and reproductive health and adolescent sexual health and all these need to be in one document,” he stated.
He explained that about 60 per cent of the essential health service (EHS) package is not covered by the NHIS, as the scheme’s current focus is on curative services, which does not serve the purposes of promoting key principles underlining UHC and PHC.
“The NHIS does not cover health promotion and education and other preventive services. Similarly, other essential services, including family planning, outreach services, as well as cost of monitoring are not reimbursable,” he added.
Mr. Nyampong further observed that EHS constitutes an important aspect of a good health system.
“The EHS package should be aligned with the NHIS benefit package to ensure guaranteed access to primary healthcare in Ghana,” he indicated.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri