Ministry to expand access to health services
The Ministry of Health is focusing on expanding access to vital health services for women and children, the sector Minister, Mr Alex Segbefia has announced.
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“Our national Health Insurance Scheme has made a concerted effort to support these vulnerable groups. Maternal health care services under the scheme are free.”
“We have established an extensive basic benefits package, which covers 95 per cent of all health problems reported in Ghanaian health care facilities,” he told health experts gathered in Accra in a workshop to look at health financing.
Peer-to-Peer workshop
The five-day workshop, a collaborative effort by the USAID, the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), is on the theme: “Africa Regional peer-learning workshop on country approaches to risk-pooling for attaining universal health coverage.”
The peer-to-peer learning workshop, which is being attended by more than 150 representatives from the government, civil society and the private sector of the participating countries, will give the participants an opportunity to share and adopt best practices with the aim of achieving universal health care in Africa.
Access to health care
“In Ghana, we strongly believe that everyone should have access to affordable, quality health services,” Mr Segbefia said, adding that currently the scheme had accredited over 4,000 public and private health care providers at all levels of the health system “to ensure that the promised services are made available.”
He noted that health costs were escalating and that was beginning to pose a threat to the long-term financial sustainability of the NHIS. He also told the health experts that the country was reviewing the scheme holistically to help address matters related to reimbursements and leakages.
In a remark, the US Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Robert P. Jackson, commended the participants for attending the workshop and explained that their presence at the workshop was a demonstration of the willingness of their governments and organisations towards achieving universal health care.
He said 400 million people globally lacked access to one or more essential health services, while 100 million people were pushed into poverty every year.
“Universal health care is a key step in eradicating poverty, improving health, spurring economic growth and fostering development. A society where everyone has access to health services is a more stable, united and prosperous society,” he noted.
Mr Jackson said governments would need to devote more resources to health, but observed that it was a challenge, “but doable.”
Commendation
Mr Jackson lauded Ghana’s NHIS, which currently covers 40 per cent of the population, which he said had received wide recognition as a successful model for social protection.
The Deputy Chief of Health of the UNAID/Washington, Megan Rhodes, commended the Government of Ghana and the Ministry of Health for hosting the workshop and urged the participants to work hard to be able to take the health financing agenda to the next level.
Writer’s Email:severious.dery@graphic.com.gh