MOH to set up health care fund

The Minister for Health, Dr Richard Anane, says the government would soon set up a healthcare financing fund scheme to promote and foster community-based health care.

He said this would serve as an equity fund to subsidise health care cost for the poor and the vulnerable.

Speaking at the opening of this year's Health Partners' Summit in Accra, the minister said the government is at the moment looking for internal funds for the take-off of the scheme.

Participants would, among other things, discuss the health of the nation, health and disease in Ghana, support services, human resources, financial management, health interventions and service delivery and inter-sectoral collaboration. The summit will also review the ministry's five-year programme of work from 1997 to 2001 and draw a new one from 2002 to 2007.

Dr Anane said "financing in healthcare is the goal to provide financial protection against the cost of health care and government believes that one scheme would not be adequate to achieve the ministry's health policy goal of providing universal access to basic healthcare. The informal, formal sectors, the poor and vulnerable have been identified as groups that cover all categories of people and require different mechanisms for the project.

Although these schemes are by and of themselves not viable, they are necessary to mobilise the informal sector for healthcare prepayment. The government has indicated that it will intensify its efforts to introduce insurance mechanism into healthcare financing.

The health ministry also intends strengthening partnership with donor agencies to eliminate duplication and inefficient use of resources to promote the co-ordination and efficient use of it.

The ministry would for the next five years focus on human resource development, healthcare financing, disease control, equity, health care delivery and inter-sectoral action for health.

Healthcare delivery, the Minister believes would among other things raise the quality of healthcare provided by the facilities, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical practice and promote rational use of drugs.

Although there have been important gains in the health profile of the country, they have been slow in coming and they have been unevenly distributed. The poor and disadvantaged did not benefit as much as hoped. Financial, geographical and socio-cultural barriers continue to negatively impact access and utilisation of the delivery.

Dr Finn Scheimann of DANIDA who represented the donors urged the government to be cautious in the abolition of the cash and carry system, since there are both advantages and disadvantages to the system.

He said the government should take the idea of incentives and motivation for health workers seriously.