President launches revised National Health Policy
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Monday launched the revised National Health Policy and promised to provide the requisite leadership and resources for its effective implementation.
The health policy, he said, 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.
He said the policy would ensure a universal health coverage for all Ghanaians by “ensuring timely and quality healthcare, irrespective of one’s ability to pay”.
President Akufo-Addo urged the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders to uphold the tenets of the policy.
President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance when he launched the National Health Policy in Accra on the theme, ” Ensuring Healthy Lives for All”.
He said 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.
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.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the health policy was in tandem with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), especially SDG three-‘ensuring quality healthcare and wellbeing for all’.
Additionally, 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.
Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health, said the adoption of the policy was in line with the SDG three, which intends to ensure quality healthcare and wellbeing for all.
He said 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.
Also, the revised policy took into consideration the socio-economic, environmental and health risk factors of the society, he added.
The Minister 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.
Source: GNA