A two-day meeting to discuss effective implementation of identified good practices, to improve healthcare service delivery in Ghana is underway in Accra.
Organised by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO), the forum, which was attended by various health professionals, was also to accept the practices to be scaled up and develop a national plan to aid the scaling up.
It comes on the back of the second Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Best Practices Forum held in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2016, where Ghana submitted good practices for enhanced efficiency in health service delivery.
Opening the event, Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, in a statement read on his behalf, stated that Ghana identified the establishment of health information management systems at the Ministry of Health and a community emergency transport system in the Wa West District of the Upper West region, as good practices to be implemented.
Additionally, an employee assistance programme for health workers in the country was identified and presented as good practice that could be scaled up, he noted.
The ministry, he said, was confident the implementation of the identified good practices in health would significantly improve delivery of healthcare and quality of health data for planning, policy formulation and decision making.
Overall, the good practices in health, which was recommended by the 15th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers, Mr Agyeman Manu, said, was aimed at stimulating change for appropriate reforms in health systems, promoting experiences, sharing culture and mobilising and aligning all key stakeholders with regional and national priorities.
The minister stated that it would also support in monitoring and evaluating of the progress made by member countries in the replication and scaling up of good practices in health.
Dr Olorunda Joseph Olugbenga, Professional Officer, Division of Human Resources Development for Health, WAHO, said that so far, about nine member countries had received support from WAHO to implement and scale up identified good practices in health.
Ghana, however, he said, was one of four countries in addition to Guinea, Benin and Liberia, which were currently being engaged in the scope, gaps and challenges, as well as needed funds for the implementation of the identified good practices in health and would be given the needed support if they are passed.
The support was to ensure that the country scales up the best practices identified and mobilise key stakeholders to facilitate the process as well as replicate the good practices in health in other regions, he added.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
