A training workshop on Universal Health Coverage(UHC) and Budget Advocacy in Ghana has been organized for selected journalists in Accra.
The seminar organized by the Ghana UHC in conjunction with HBC Promised Ghana, a non-governmental organization on Wednesday 20th October 2021, had the objective of educating and imparting knowledge to journalists on how the media can help push the country’s drive towards attaining universal health coverage.
One of the facilitators, LaMont “Montee” Evans of HBC Promised Ghana in an interview at the end of the workshop explained that the goal of the event was to help the media to understand how they can advocate and help hold political decision-makers accountable for the decision they make around health financing.
He encouraged journalists who attended the training workshop to mobilize their communities through various media platforms to demand better healthcare and also demand responsibility from duty-bearers.
Topics discussed during the training workshop include: Overview of UHC (SDG3), Ghana’s Roadmap for Attaining UHC, 2020-2030, Health Systems and UHC in Ghana, Media and Health Financing and Health Budgetary Accountability among others.
Universal Health Care (UHC) means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care across the life course.
The Ministry of Health has indicated that steps are being taken to make Universal Health Care (UHC) Package accessible throughout the country by 2030, to improve the quality of care.
The UHC Package is expected to be a set of health services that meet the health needs and aspirations of every Ghanaian irrespective of their age, gender and social status.
It would also recognize the different health needs of all persons at different stages, ensure that there is access to curative and preventive services, which take care of common diseases.
The government had also begun the development of a UHC roadmap to ensure that Ghanaians had timely access to quality health services irrespective of their ability to pay at the point of use.
To achieve the goal of UHC; Ghana has identified Primary Health Care (PHC) as one of the key strategies in implementing the roadmap for UHC in Ghana.
Key strategies under consideration in operationalizing the UHC roadmap, include increasing the enrolment of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and keeping members active as well as making Community Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) fully functional throughout the nation.
The others are; redesigning the service delivery system to meet the health needs of the people, increase financial resources in the health sector, as well as the private sector, civil society engagement, and retention of human resources for health.
It is worth noting that no country in the world, whether developed or developing has yet attained total Universal Health Coverage for its citizens.
It is said that “Universal Health Coverage is a journey and not a destination.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com