Health Minister moves to prevent stockouts of HIV, TB and Malaria commodities

The government is taking steps to prevent shortages and delays in the supply of essential health commodities as it reviews funding and procurement arrangements for the country’s HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes.

The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, held discussions with a delegation from the Global Fund led by the Head of the Grant Management Division, Mark Eldon Edington, on concerns surrounding the availability of critical health supplies and the long-term sustainability of key health interventions.

The meeting focused on Ghana’s co-financing commitments, the procurement and clearance of health commodities, and ways to better align donor-supported programmes with the government’s priorities, including the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.

Mr. Akandoh expressed appreciation to the Global Fund for its longstanding support to Ghana but stressed the need for stronger coordination between donor-funded programmes and government policies to ensure that health interventions address the country’s priorities.

On Ghana’s co-financing obligations under the Global Fund’s seventh grant cycle, known as GC7, the Minister said the country had committed about US$38.5 million, representing 85 per cent of its US$45 million commitment.

He also disclosed that the Ministry of Health was working to establish dedicated budget lines for selected health programmes as part of efforts to strengthen domestic financing and gradually reduce the country’s dependence on external support.

Mr. Edington welcomed the progress made on the co-financing commitment but raised concerns over stockouts of essential health commodities, weaknesses in procurement systems and delays in clearing medical supplies at Ghana’s ports.

He said the challenges required both immediate interventions and sustainable measures to ensure that essential commodities reached health facilities on time and prevent similar disruptions in the future.

In response, Mr. Akandoh said the Ministry had started implementing measures to accelerate the clearance of health commodities.

Among the measures, he said, was ensuring that shipping documentation was completed before consignments arrived in Ghana, as well as increasing competition among clearing agents to improve efficiency.

The Health Minister assured the Global Fund delegation of the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges affecting the procurement and supply of essential health commodities.

He stressed that ensuring the timely availability of medicines and other critical health supplies was essential to maintaining quality healthcare and sustaining treatment and prevention programmes for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria across the country.