President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has posited that, the revised National Health Policy would ensure a universal health coverage for all Ghanaians by ensuring timely and quality healthcare, irrespective of one’s ability to pay.
Speaking at the launch of the revised National Health Policy on theme “Ensuring Healthy Lives for All”, the President gave this assurance and also promised to provide the requisite leadership and resources for the effective implementation of the policy.
He further intimated that, the health policy, would provide a clear policy direction to the Government in the health sector for the next 10 years and ensure access to quality healthcare without funding being a barrier to any citizen.
According to the President, the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic has made it a necessity for the nation to implement a health policy that would cater for the country’s emergency health needs in the future.
President Akufo-Addo then urged the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders to uphold the tenets of the policy.
The President was of the conviction that the ‘Agenda 111’ with the aim of constructing district hospitals in each of the districts without health facilities and three infectious disease centres in each of the geological zones would go a long way to ensure quality healthcare for all.
He then noted that, the health policy was in line with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), especially SDG three which is “ensuring quality healthcare and wellbeing for all”, adding that, the policy derived inspiration from the African Union Development Framework- Agenda 6063, African Health Strategy, the Directive Principles of State Policy and other UN health protocols.
Speaking also at the launch, the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, said the adoption of the policy was in line with the SDG three, which intends to ensure quality healthcare and wellbeing for all.
He further noted that, the old health policy, which was adopted in 2007 was not comprehensive enough to ensure equitable and affordable health services, hence the revision of the policy taking into consideration the COVID-19 pandemic and future health emergencies.
According to the Minister, the revised policy took into consideration the socio-economic, environmental and health risk factors of the society.
The Minister then said, health was not only the absence of diseases, but having physical, mental and socio-economic wellbeing of an individual.
The policy, he said, has five key objectives including; ensuring resilient health system, sustainable financing, sustainable environmental practices and providing quality health services through multifaceted approach and thus, leaving no one behind in accessing quality health services.
The National Health Policy, designed within the context of Ghana’s vision of achieving middle income status, places health at the centre of socio-economic development and presents a clear shift in the role of health in the national and international development framework.
This was done based on the recognition that health is not only a human right issue, but also a key driver of development, and ultimately of wealth creation.
