USAID Regional health workshop opens in Accra

A five-day workshop on advancing universal health coverage in Africa by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has opened in Accra.

The workshop being held in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO)  and Ghana’s Ministry of Health and National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) would run from Monday February 15 to Friday February 19, 2016.

Titled “Africa Regional Peer-Learning Workshop on Country Approaches to Risk-Pooling for Attaining Universal Health Coverage”, it has convened more than 150 representatives from government, civil society and the private sector of countries including Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal and Uganda.

A statement issued by USAID said the workshop will facilitate interaction on the topic of healthcare and familiarize policymakers with lessons learned and best practices for achieving universal healthcare, with focus on financial risk protection.

Ghanaian officials would share experiences in improving the quality of healthcare in Ghana and expanding access through Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme which is supported by USAID as part of its integrated Health, Population and Nutrition Programme which works to improve the health and well-being of Ghanaians.

According to USAID, speakers expected at the workshop include new US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, Ariel Pablos-Mendez, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health; Alex Segbefia, Ghana’s Health Minister; and experts from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the WHO.

By Emmanuel Odonkor