Health ministers from across the Commonwealth, including Ghana, pledged to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainably financed health systems at the 37th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting held in Geneva ahead of the 78th World Health Assembly.

Represented by a high-level delegation, Ghana, through its health minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, actively participated in discussions aimed at addressing the growing financial pressures on global health systems and the urgent need to scale up domestic investments in health.

The theme for this year’s meeting was “Unlocking Sustainable Financing and Strengthening Health Systems for the 2.7 Billion People in the Commonwealth.”

The meeting, chaired by Lesotho’s health minister, Selibe Mochoboroane, saw health leaders adopt a unified ministerial statement calling for stronger domestic resource mobilisation, equitable access to care, and climate-resilient health systems.

“It is crucial to establish a sustainable financing framework that safeguards our health systems through these hardships,” he said.

Opening the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey — a Ghanaian diplomat — called for a shift from short-term health interventions.

“We must shift from short-term, fragmented approaches to long-term, wide investment… and most crucially, primary health care,” she said, also calling for innovative financing models like blended finance and social impact bonds.

Ghana also participated in breakout sessions on climate resilience, mental health, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and healthy ageing. Delegates emphasised the importance of simplifying access to climate financing and preparing for the upcoming United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health in September.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the ministers, pledging stronger collaboration with the Commonwealth to support financial self-reliance and innovation in healthcare delivery.

Ghana’s delegation underscored the country’s investment in digital health tools, including recent initiatives to expand telemedicine and deploy digital health maturity assessments across rural communities.

Health ministers from across the Commonwealth have pledged to strengthen health systems and unlock sustainable financing for the 2.7 billion people in member states, as the 37th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting concluded in Geneva.