Stakeholders want engagement, strengthening primary care to achieve Universal Health Coverage

As part of the ongoing efforts to ensure access to quality healthcare for all Ghanaians and underserved populations across Africa, stakeholders have emphasized the need for increased engagement and support for stronger penetration of quality healthcare services by the private sector.

During a panel discussion at the 10th Society of Family Physicians of Ghana Stakeholders Engagement held in Accra at the Physician and Surgeons Zero Room, key figures such as Acting Director of the Institutional Care Division at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Lawrence Ofori Boadu, Prof. Dr. Akye Essuman, former Chair of the Faculty of Medicine at GCPS, and Dr. Mrs. Salamatu Nantogma, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PPME), highlighted the importance of strengthening primary care to achieve universal health coverage.

Dr. Boadu emphasized the necessity for robust engagement and dialogue between the public and private sectors, particularly in recognizing the vital role of the public sector in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in delivering quality healthcare services to Ghanaians and other Africans.

In her address focusing on healthcare development in the nation, Dr. Nantogma emphasized the need for policy reforms, collaboration, and facilitating private sector engagement to drive healthcare development.

Prof. Dr. Essuman presented successful interventions and positive outcomes, highlighting how policy discussions can influence legislative agendas and foster a conducive environment for private sector participation.

Dr. Boadu urged experienced healthcare professionals in Ghana to showcase the transformative power of collaboration with private sector engagement, emphasizing the importance of working at the sub-district level where service delivery is most needed. He underscored that through advocacy, collaboration, and supportive policies, positive change can be achieved, moving closer to the goal of Universal Health Coverage by 2030.