Ahead of the upcoming 4th United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting on NCDs to be held in the United States of America in September this year, the Ghana Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Alliance (GhNCDA) in collaboration with the Media Alliance in Tobacco Control and Health (MATCOH) have held a day’s capacity building seminar for stakeholders including media professionals, civil society organisations (CSOs) and Persons Living with the disease.
National Coordinator for GhNCDA, Labram Musah in a presentation on the ‘Overview of NCDs landscape in Ghana from CSOs viewpoints,’ Labram Musah, underscored the urgent need for increased investment to help attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Ghana.
He emphasised the need for inclusiveness in the decision making process especially the involvement of persons living with NCDs to develop workable policies for all.
“NCDs are a growing public health crisis, and addressing them requires financial commitment and the active participation of those directly affected. We must ensure that persons living with NCDs are included in decision-making processes to create policies that truly meet their needs,” Mr Msah said.
Statistics show that NCDs are responsible for 74% of all deaths globally and 45 % of deaths in Ghana currently with increasing rates.
Non-Communicable Diseases pose high burden on the country’s healthcare systems as a result of increasing hospitalization and long term needs, exponential increasing cost of treatment of multi-morbidities, whiles affecting affecting abilities of families to feed and provide education for their members.
More than 60% of people living with NCDs face financial burden, due to out of pocket payments for medication, hospital visiation, among others.
MR Musah called on the government and stakeholders to ensure prioritisation of NCDs in the contry’s health agendas and allocate more resources to fight them.
The Ghana NCDs Alliance National Coordinator reiterated the importance of empowering individuals living with NCDs to share their experiences and insights, ensuring that health policies are both inclusive and effective.
The dialogue session focused at advancing advocacy, promoting key issues that requires government action prior to the 4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs.
Political declaration after the 4TH UN High-Level Meeting would provide the main framework for action for all stakeholders and governments in curbing NCDs.
Other topics discussed include;key advocacy priorities and opportunities: the role of the UN High-Level Metting in shaping global health plocies, the role of Africa NCDs Network in shaping National Responses, regional advocacy efforts and best practices, the role of the media in driving policy change on NCDs among others.
Ghana’s progress on NCDs
Progress made by Ghana in tackling NCDs includes; the establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme aimed at the achievement of UHC, Passage of Excise Tax Amendment Act, 2023 to reduce accessibility and affordability of unhealthy commodities to reduce NCD burden, the passage of the Mental Health Act 2012, Act 846, which seeks to establish a Mental Health Fund and the introduction of Network of Practice to improve health centers and the referral of system, the announcement of the establishment of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (Mahamacares) to finance treatment of NCDs.
By: Christian Kpesese
