Director General of the GHS, Anthony Nsiah Asare
The Ghana Health Service (GHS), in collaboration with Save Your Liver Foundation, has launched the Ghana Liver Hepatitis Fund as a national response initiative against viral hepatitis in the country.
The fund, launched in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day, is intended to harmonise multi-stakeholder funding to support the GHS utilise its structures across the country in combating viral hepatitis through diagnosis, vaccination, treatment and care.
Speaking at the launch, the Director General of the GHS, Anthony Nsiah Asare, in a speech read on his behalf, enumerated that
the fund will give a common project identity to Ghana’s quest to attain Goal 3.3 of the SDGs- combating viral hepatitis by 2030 within the framework of the National Policy Guideline on Viral Hepatitis.
He indicated that the project has been adopted as a nationwide comprehensive programme to be implemented at all levels of the healthcare delivery system from community-based health planning and services (CHPS).
Mr Asare said the National Policy Guideline on Viral Hepatitis revealed that the disease has become a major health problem in Ghana with the country recording a high prevalence for both chronic hepatitis B and C.
“There is, therefore, no doubt that the Ghana Liver Hepatitis Fund is so far the most competitive response to Ghana’s quest to contain viral hepatitis and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.3,” he added.
According to the President of the Ghana Liver-Hepatitis Fund, Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo, it was revealed during this year’s World Cancer Day celebrations that liver cancer is the leading cause of death in Ghana.
He stated that data from the GHS indicated that liver cancer has the highest fatality rate of 97 percent in 2015, claiming 1,856 lives out of 1,923 cases recorded with 1,000 childhood cancers being recorded.
“We cannot wait for donor funding arrangements to intervene in an area that has become such a huge burden on our health,” Mr Azongo underscored.
He said the fund is to ensure regular flow of funds to activate the 10 regional GHS structures responsible to implement series of programmes within the matrix of Outreach-Equipment-Publicity & Public Access (OEPPA Approach) from the region through to the CHPS level.
By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng