A stakeholders’ workshop on Ghana’s progress in implementing primary healthcare (PHC) implementation in Kumasi has been organized by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR).
Representatives of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from the middle zone of the country attended the workshop, which provided a forum to debate and share the PHC implementation in line with the national budget allocation for the health sector in 2022.
The objective was to make practical suggestions for how the government may best enhance the provision of health services to its residents.
PHC in Ghana: Policy background and execution – a historical perspective, analysis of the 2022 national budget, as well as media and community interactions, were among the subjects covered at the meeting.
Although budgetary contributions to the health sector have been rising over time, according to Mr. Archibald Adams, Communications and Advocacy Manager at ARHR, who moderated the conversation, the government has still not been able to dedicate 15% of the national budget to health.
According to him, a detailed examination of the health budget also showed that 51% of it was devoted to rewards and salaries, leaving insufficient money to cover the cost of goods and services.
Nonetheless, he noted that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a larger financial allocation for goods and services in 2020.
He emphasized that CSOs must intensify their lobbying for higher budgetary support for goods and services that will improve health outcome
Regarding interactions with the media and the community, Mr. Adams pleaded with CSOs working in the field of health to forge positive bonds with media outlets so they could reach a wider audience.
Certain media outlets’ profit-driven business models and refusal to provide their platforms for free public education prompted concerns among the participants.
Others are also controlled by politicians whose goal is to further a certain agenda at the expense of pressing social, political, economic, and educational issues that have a significant impact on people’s lives.
They also acknowledged that some CSOs’ work was politically driven and emphasized the necessity for independent organizations to represent the interests of the people.