The African Youth and Adolescents’ Network on Population and Development (AfriYAN) Ghana was represented in a virtual meeting organized by Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), SEND Ghana and Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) to promote civil society dialogue on the 2021 National Health Budget. Samuel Lamptey, Act for Change, represented the Network at this virtual meeting.
The objectives of the meeting were to present an analysis of the health component of the 2021 national budget and its implications for primary healthcare and Universal Health Coverage in Ghana, and collate civil society inputs on the budget component for health. The national health budget analysis was presented by Leonard Shang-Quartey who pin-pointed the following proposed actions from government, for the attention of civil society:
· The construction of 111 district hospitals by the government across the country
· The piloted family planning inclusion into the NHIS benefit package in some selected districted
· Over 50,000 health personnel were employed last year with over 40,000 being nurses with certificates, diploma and degree qualifications.
Civil society groups were encouraged to develop an interest in monitoring and evaluating the deliverables set out by the government.
Civil society groups were encouraged to develop an interest in holding governments accountable through structured monitoring systems. Participants drew the CSOs’ attention to the lack of budgetary allocations to mental health and reproductive health and the need to design a civil society-led monitoring roadmap to effectively monitor the proposed projects by the government this year.
The views collated will be useful in engaging relevant state actors to influencing financing of health within the 2022 national budget.
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