Archibald Adams and Nii Sarpei
As most political parties are in the process of finalizing their manifestos for the upcoming general election, civil society organizations (CSOs) are calling on political parties to prioritize health issues in their manifestos, especially preventive healthcare.
According to the CSOs, preventive healthcare holds the key to an improved healthcare system, as it reduces the pressure on health facilities for curative care. “What we are pushing now is preventive healthcare,” they stressed.
The CSOs further called for a dedicated fund for the promotion of preventive healthcare. They maintained that the move could reduce lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes, cancer and kidney failure.
“There should be a dedicated fund for preventive healthcare, and stronger coordination of health policies. We also want government to fulfill its commitment and allocate 15 per cent of the budget to healthcare,” Archibald Adams, Communication and Advocacy Lead, Planned Parenthood Association Ghana (PPAG), said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a CSOs consultative meeting for the development of the CSOs health manifesto for political parties held under the patronage of the Universal Access to Health Care Campaign (UAHCC), Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), SEND Ghana and PPAG.
The Coordinator for the COSs Manifesto, Nii Sarpei, Programme Manager ARHR, said the manifesto was in three broad areas, namely policy, programme & finance for healthcare.
He said key issues expected in the manifesto included resources and facilities for mental health, domestic funding for communicable diseases and preparedness for pandemics, especially at the primary healthcare level, and addressing gaps in reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health.
When finalized, he said, the manifesto would be used by the CSOs to engage the various national political parties to demand the prioritization and redress of key health issues/gaps in service delivery and health systems which in the past few years had not been fully addressed or resolved by successive governments.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri