THE GHANA HEALTH SECTOR Ministry of Health

1. THE GHANA HEALTH SECTORMinistry of Health GENERAL HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING

2. Health System Strengthening • Development of capacities in the health system for health delivery. • Mix of technical, managerial and logistics capacities required to promote, protect and improve health. • Emphasis on creation, expansion, upgrading and maintenance of capabilities in the health system for service provision and governance.

3. 2007 Policy Thrust • To strengthen capacity of the Health System by mobilizing and allocating resources equitably and ensuring their efficient utilization

4. Results Matrix

5. 7 Programmes • Human Resources Development • Infrastructure • Equipment • Drugs and Essential Logistics • Transport • Health Information for policy • Health Industry

6. 1. Human Resources Development Policy Thrust • Increase production of middle-level cadre, • Continuously refine strategies for retention, equitable distribution, and enhancing productivity.

7. HR Programmes and Broad Activities (1) • Strengthen home and community-based care components of existing programmes such as roll-back malaria, HIV Aids, etc. • Increase the production of health workers focusing on middle level health professionals; • Retain, distribute equitably and increase productivity and responsiveness of human resources by: (i) strengthening systems for supervision, accountability and overall human resource management; (ii) continuously refining systems for compensation and incentives, and implementing sanctions; and (iii) Promoting effective legislation and regulation.

8. HR Programmes and Broad Activities (2) • Advocate for, orientate and mobilize other professionals including teachers and agriculture extension workers to contribute to the promotion and maintenance of health; • Collaborate with MLGRD on effective deployment and functioning of health inspectors in the promotion of a healthy environment.

9. 2. Infrastructure All physical structures and/or facilities required to promote, maintain and restore health and include: • Hospitals, Clinics, maternity homes, CHPS Compounds; • Health enhancing facilities such as gyms, health farms & regenerative centres; • Water, sanitation and waste management facilities

10. Infrastructure Policy Thrust • Ensure geographical access to well maintained and health facilities and health enhancing infrastructure with emphasis on deprived and peri-urban areas;

11. Programmes and Broad Activities (1) • Complete the Health Services Planning Methodology and Framework for capital investment, disseminate and commence training on the model for implementation; • Develop a framework to guide institutional and managerial roles for approval and funding of investment; • Scale up CHPS Reprioritize ongoing health service infrastructure to fill gaps in access to service particularly in deprived and hard-to-reach communities; • Conduct a Service Availability Mapping as a basis for rationalising capital development within available financial and human resources.

12. Programmes and Broad Activities (2) • Mobilize financing for the renovation and planned preventive maintenance of existing health service facilities; • Promote private sector investments in health services and health enhancing facilities; • Promote strong inter-sectoral action with other MDAs on the adoption of appropriate and cost- effective systems for waste management including, plastic, liquid and solid waste.

13. 3. Equipment Policy Thrust • To provide health facilities with functional equipment.

14. Programmes and Broad Activities • Improve planned preventive maintenance to increase availability of requisite equipment in health facilities; • Mobilise resources to support replacement of obsolete equipment; • Improve equipment management systems; • Adopt, disseminate and begin implementation of the clinical and medical waste management policy.

15. 4. Drugs and Essential Logistics Policy Thrust To continue implementing the policy framework to address: • affordability, • sustainable financing, • safety, • quality, and • efficacy of medicines

16. Programmes and Broad Activities (1) • Promote local production and increase access to supplies & logistics; • Review Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medicines List; • Ensure full implementation of the NPL within the health sector; • Re-engineer & modernize systems for procurement, storage and distribution of supplies and logistics; • Implement 2007 procurement plan and develop 2008 plan of procurement.

17. Programmes and Broad Activities (2) • Develop strategy for debt collection and increase medicines availability; • Institute systems for continuous monitoring and assurance of quality, efficacy and safety of medicines, including traditional medicines; • Continue with implementation of administrative guidelines for issuing compulsory licensing, parallel importation and advocate for amendment of the Patent law 2003.

18. 5. Transport • 50% of motor vehicles and 60% of motorbikes are over aged; • High maintenance and running cost particularly at the district level; • Transport situation getting worse in the absence of adequate budgetary allocation for replacing vehicles.

19. Policy Thrust • To increase vehicle availability for service delivery and supervision.

20. Programmes and Broad Activities • Improve transport management by ensuring adherence to guidelines for transport use and management and development of skills of transport staff; • Mobilize resources to implement medium term vehicle replacement plan targeting over aged vehicles particularly in the deprived districts; • Improve planned preventive maintenance to increase vehicle availability;

21. 6. Health Information for policy Policy Thrust To promote generation and use of evidence for decision making, programme development, resource allocation and management through research, statistics, information management and deployment of ICT

22. Programmes and Broad Activities (1) • Build consensus and establish baselines and refine targets for sector-wide indicators to monitor progress in health system performance. • Develop and implement a strategic plan for the development of an integrated and consolidated National Health Information System; • Review and improve the vital registration system including strengthening collaboration with demographic surveillance sites;

23. Programmes and Broad Activities (2) • Continue to support district coverage surveys as a means of validating performance with respect to population based indicators; • Scale up the district wide system for information management to ensure the availability and accurate and reliable routine service based data; • Finalise and disseminate the Multiple indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and begin planning for 2008 demographic and health survey.

24. 7. Health Industry The health industry comprises all firms directly involved in the production of health. These include all firms (both public and private) operating in a health market and  involved in the manufacturing of health products, provision of the health care and health enhancing services and generation of knowledge in support of health.

25. Key Issues • The health industry as a new concept has not been recognized and analyzed. • The capacity of the local manufacturing industry is under-utilized and the potential herbal and traditional medicines is largely untapped. • Apart from the pharmaceutical sector that is fairly well understood, the size and potential of the health industry is not known and appreciated by policy makers and potential investors.

26. Policy Thrust • To create a better understanding of the health industry as a basis for enhancing the capacity and sustainability of the health system and contributing to the national economy.

27. Programmes and Broad Activities • Map and analyze the health industry to understand the components, structure, size, barriers and contribution to the national economy  • Create an understanding of the importance of health industry to the national economy among key stakeholders; • Collaborate with the Min. of Trade & Industry to support the development of micro-enterprises for public health interventions; • Strengthen collaboration with private sector and NGOs in health delivery.

28. THANK YOU Merci! Meda mo ase! Asante sana!