Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana: Recounting Some Aspects of the Journey so far- Episode 2

Kumasi Nurses’ Training College (NTC) Assembly Hall was the venue for the 1986 Annual Conference of the Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG). The attraction of being associated with a conference hosted by the 2nd Teaching Hospital (Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital) in Ghana led to positive responses for sponsorship of the AHSAG Conference in that year. As recounted in episode 1 of this piece, therefore, the ground was prepared for the Conference without AHSAG members or their institutions/employers making any payments towards its hosting. Indeed, the 1986 AHSAG Conference remains the one major Annual AHSAG Conference where members or their institutions or the main Ministry of Health did not have to pay to attend the Conference.

At that event, Mr. Charles Buadu, the PNDC Secretary for Health was represented by his Special Assistant, one Col. Adjei while Dr. Moses Erasmus Komla Adibo was invited to address the Conference in his capacity as Head of the Planning Unit of the Ministry of Health. PNDC means Provisional National Defence Council, a military administration that ruled Ghana from 31^st December, 1981 to 7^th January, 1993 when its chairman, the late Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings became the first democratically elected President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana under the 1992 Constitution.

By the time Dr. Moses Erasmus Komla Adibo arrived in Kumasi for the Conference, his status had changed to the technical Head of the Ministry of Health. In fact, he became the Director of Medical Services (DMS) of Ghana. Hitherto, Dr. J.D Otoo was the Acting Director of Medical Services (DMS) while Dr. Adibo was Head of the Planning Unit. Just before the 1986 AHSAG Conference, there was the launch of the National Immunization Campaign in Greater Accra Region by the Chairman of the PNDC and Head of State of Ghana. When Chairman Rawlings arrived at the programme, the Ag. Director of Medical Services was not present. The Head of State learnt that the Ag. DMS had travelled to attend some programme outside the country. In his address at the launch, Chairman Rawlings asked rhetorically where the DMS was while such an important national campaign was taking place. He asked, “Where is the Director of Medical Services? Dollars! Dollars!” And it came to pass that the Head of the Planning Unit of the Ministry of Health set off to be at 1986 AHSAG Conference in Kumasi and by the time the Conference started he had been made the substantive Technical Head of the Ministry as Director of Medical Services of Ghana. Dr. J.D. Otoo reverted to the position of Head of Manpower and Training which later on became the Human Resource Directorate (HRD) with the reforms that the Ministry of Health embarked on.

Following the successful organisation of the Annual Conference in Kumasi, AHSAG decided that the respective regional caucuses that felt capable of hosting the Annual Conferences should be allowed to do so subsequently. Later on, it became the practice of the Association to rotate the hosting of its AGMs in all regions. The Association managed to prevail upon the Ministry of Health to support the hosting of the conferences subsequently. Dr Anarfi Asamoa Baah, the then Director of Policy Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME) of the Ministry of Health deserves mention in the provision of this support to the Association and of course to other professional associations in the health sector at the time.

In 1996, Ashanti Region hosted the Association's Annual Conference for the second time even though some of the regions had not yet played host to organizing the Annual Conference of the Association. The venue for the 1996 Conference was the Georgia Hotel in Kumasi. The focus of this Conference was Human Resource Management and Prof. Amoah of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) was the lead facilitator. It was after this Conference that Prof. Amoah provided massive supports to get an improvement in the Health Service Administrators’ placement on the mechanized payroll.

Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa and AHSAG

The 3rd time Ashanti played host to the Association's Annual Conference was in 2003. The venue was La Saab Hotel in Kumasi. By that time the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had been set up and operationalized in accordance with Article 190 of the 1992 Constitution which requires that service delivery should be separated from policy-making on the global altar decentralized public service delivery through the New Public Management (NPM) concept advocated by the Bretton Woods Institutions (the World Bank and IMF). Prof. Agyemang Badu Akosa from the University of Ghana Medical School had been appointed as the Director - General of the GHS. Before that period, Prof. Akosa had served as the President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA). There was an unfortunate media altercation between the President of GMA and the President of AHSAG. There was, therefore, the need to build bridges between AHSAG and the new DG.

The 2003 Conference in Kumasi coincided with the new DG’s regional tours to apprise himself of healthcare delivery across the nation and the challenges of the workforce nationwide. It was acknowledged that one way of building a bridge between the DG and the AHSAG fraternity was to get him to attend the 2003 Conference of the Association. Accordingly, the Association's Vice President, Mr. Kofi Opoku (the writer of this piece) went to the new DG and convinced him to attend the AHSAG Conference and to participate in its formal opening in Kumasi. Mr. Opoku who was the then Regional Health Service Administrator for Northern Region assured the DG that the Northern Regional Health Administration could adjust his planned visit to enable him participate in the 2003 AHSAG Conference. The DG accepted the suggestion.

The possibility of socializing with the Administrators and carrying out his planned regional familiarization visits excited the DG. He, however, requested that the Association’s Vice President should also adjust his participation in the Conference and go with him to the Northern Region after attending the opening day's programme of the Annual Conference.

This was his acknowledgement of the role of the Administrators as the fulcrum in healthcare delivery. And it came to pass that Prof. Akosa, the DG of GHS at the time participated in the 2003 AHSAG Annual Conference in Kumasi and thereafter set off for the Northern Region with the Association's Vice President to begin his familiarization visits to the regions. And so, on the last day of the 2003 Conference during the elections at the Business Session, the Vice President could not be returned to office together with the President as it happened during the elections at the 2001 Conference in Sunyani. This was in compliance with the resolve in Ho in 1999 that no one should be elected in absentia to serve on the Association’s Executive Committee again. Dr. Addai – Donkoh, therefore, served his last term as President without Mr. Opoku who was his Vice in his two previous terms.

The Tradition of Hosting AGMs by other Regions

By the year 2003, all the ten regions in the country had hosted the Annual Conferences of the Association. Members were excited about the opportunities that hosting the conferences in the regions availed to them. And as if by design, it came to pass that the Annual Conferences somehow followed a North -South trend for some time. Ho hosted in 1999; Wa hosted in 2000; Sunyani hosted in 2001; Bolga in 2002; Kumasi in 2003 and Tamale in 2005.

In 2011, Ashanti Region hosted the AHSAG Conference for 4th time. The venue was the Miklin Hotel in Kumasi. Ten years after the hosting of the 4th Annual Conference of the Association in Kumasi, it is interesting that Miklin Hotel had again won the place of choice for the just ended 2021 AHSAG Annual Conference. I entreat all Health Service Administrators to be committed to duty and be mindful of our professional codes in their dealings so as not endanger their career and bring the name of AHSAG into disrepute. I hope this piece equally provides the young Health Service Administrators about some antecedents of the Association running and the need to further improve on the achievements so far.

Kudos to the pace setters!.

Congratulations to all AHSAG members!!

Long Live AHSAG!!!.

Mr. Kofi Opoku

Member, Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana

(Former Director of Health Administration and Support Services, GHS)