Female Right Advocacy Groups Asked Gov’t To Prioritize Health In Socio Political Discourse

By Laud Nartey

The MamaYe! Advocacy and the Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign has petitioned the government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) to prioritize the health sector in the socio-political discourse to strengthen the policy and legal framework for maternal, newborn and primary healthcare services. The groups also want increase financial commitment to the healthcare sector with sufficient legislative focus on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5, as well as the MoH liaising with the Ministry of Finance to ensure the timely release of all funds for the sector to prevent life-threatening strikes undertaken by health professionals.

MDGs 4 and 5 deal with reducing Child Mortality, Improving Maternal Health and combating HIV/AIDS infections. These actions the groups believed would contribute to the realisation of the tenets of the MDGs. Derrick Adoglah, Communications Director for the group in the petition statement he presented during a street march in Accra last week mentioned that the government should strengthened the monitoring and evaluation units to effectively monitor the utilization of budgetary allocation to the health sector, and review legal and policy framework on the health MDGs.

In addition to that he said the government must reinforce structures of the National Health Insurance Scheme to ensure that many more have-nots can access health services and that every Ghanaian can access healthcare without necessarily paying at a point of use. “To successfully make a positive impact on the health MDGs, it is essential that critical steps are taken to make certain that the health system guarantees survival of all who need healthcare in Ghana,” he emphasized. Salimatu Abdul-Salam, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Heath, who received the petition, indicated that the ministry was going to take into account the concerns raised in the petition.

She indicated that a lot has been done by the government in the health sector especially to increase access to quality services in the area of new born babies and also to reduce maternal mortality through making the NHIS free for all pregnant women, training more doctors and nurses. The march started at Obra spot at Kwame Nkrumah Circle through some principal streets of Accra and ended at the hearts park. It brought together civil societies in the health sector