The Primary Healthcare Advocacy Coalition (PHAC) has called on government to develop a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds function effectively to improve health care delivery.

 

The Coalition is also calling on government to prioritise primary health care delivery across the country and ensure that all CHPS compounds are equipped with the needed human resource and logistics to improve universal health coverage.

 

Mr George Osei Bimpeh, member of the Coalition, made the call in Accra at a press briefing to mark Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day which fell on December 12.

 

The country adopted the concept of CHPS and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as primary health care strategies to achieve UHC which addresses issues of access, quality, equity and affordability.

 

The Coalition urged government to release funds due to the National Health Insurance Scheme to enable the Authority pay all outstanding debts to service providers.

 

“No Ghanaian should suffer any financial barrier while accessing healthcare. We demand that health service providers registered under the scheme should continue to provide full services to all scheme card holders”, he added.

 

Mr Bimpeh, who is also the Country Director of SEND Ghana, demand the localisation of the health Sustainable Development Goals 3 into the 2018-2021 midterm development framework and the costing plans by all MMDAa.

 

He explained that in 1978, the World Health Organisation adopted the declaration of Alma-Ata at the International Conference on PHC at Alma Ata in Kazakhstan.

 

He said the declaration under Article VII defined essential components of primary health care which outlines means of providing health care globally including education on health issues, promotion of food supply and proper nutrition, maternal and child health care, family planning among others.

 

Mr Bimpeh noted that the concepts that underlined the principles of PHC are equity of access, appropriate technology, holistic health, social acceptability and community affordability, political support and inter-sectoral collaboration and team-approach.

 

Mr Archibald Adams, National Campaign Coordinator of the Universal Access to Healthcare Campaign said the country’s health sector need a strong, efficient and well-run system that meet priority health needs through people-centred integrated care.

 

He called for sufficient capacity of well-trained, motivated health workers to provide the servces to meet patients’ needs based on the best available evidence and address health issues such as living conditions and household income.

 

Mr Adams congratulated Nana Akuffo Addo, the President-Elect on winning the 2016 elections and urged him to walk towards achieving the health promises in the manifesto.