Redirect COVID-19 levy into health emergency fund - KEEA health stakeholders to govt

Some stakeholders in the health sector in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) Municipality have called for the conversion of the COVID-19 levy into a public health emergency levy to be directed into a public health emergency fund to handle public health emergencies.

They stated that this would prevent erratic responses to public health emergencies, ensure prompt response to public health emergencies and reduce casualties during such periods.

They specifically indicated that the funding gaps created in the health sector due to policy reforms in countries such as the United States of America required that Ghana worked to find its own dedicated sources, especially for health emergencies.

A member of the public health committee in the KEEA Municipality, Nana Tsiquaye I, said the distress on the health directorate and its officials, as well as relevant stakeholders during outbreaks and health emergencies necessitated the institution of such a fund to help handle such emergencies adequately and without delay.

He was speaking at the municipality's annual performance review on the theme, "Strengthening outbreak preparedness: The importance of surveillance, coordination and community engagement.”

Nana Tsiquaye said the 49 cholera casualties out of the 719 confirmed cases in the country and others recorded with other disease outbreaks could have been minimised if the country had specific funds to deal with emergency responses in a more holistic and coordinated manner, rather than erratic reactions to such outbreaks. 

KEEA Municipality

The Municipal Director of Health for KEEA, Martin Samani Daanko, reiterated the call, stressing that ad-hoc solutions to emergencies must be replaced with a specific fund to cater for such emergencies.

Participants in the conference

The KEEA Municipality, however, has recorded no cholera deaths since the outbreak, even though it had 16 confirmed cases of cholera from 139 suspected cases in 2024.

Dr Daanko said the worse hit communities included Elmina, Kissi and Komenda sub-districts. 

He said malaria continued to be a disease of public health importance in the country but stated that the interventions being implemented to eliminate malaria are yielding results.

He said malaria cases, which used to account for more than 50 per cent of all Out Patient Department cases, were declining.

In 2024, of the 59,735 top 10 diseases recorded at the OPD, 25,990, representing 32 per cent were due to malaria compared to 78,250 top 10 diseases in 2023, from which 26,384, representing 34 per cent cases were confirmed positive for malaria, he stated.

The most affected communities are in the Elmina, Kissi and Komenda sub-districts. He called for proper hygienic practices to help reduce disease outbreaks.

Challenges

Mr Daanko expressed worry about inadequate means of transport, obsolete equipment and staff.

He said the sub-districts have no car or other means of transport for outreach services, thereby relying on taxis for such exercises and called for support.

He said during the period under review, the municipality recorded two maternal deaths, representing a maternal mortality ratio of 65/100,000 live births compared to the Central Region’s target of 72.6/100,000 live births.

To curtail the needless deaths of pregnant women, he said the Central Region Health Directorate had rolled out interventions to reduce maternal deaths and built the capacity of health workers directly involved in maternal health to improve services and indicators.

In an address read on her behalf, the Central Regional Director of Health, Dr Agnes Anane, called for dedication to work, particularly to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths and stillbirths in the region.