A National Health Financing Strategy to help address the funding gaps, boost investment and improve health outcomes in Ghana, has been developed.

The strategy, also seeks to address the continued health financing, service delivery challenges and to complement existing efforts towards Universal Health Coverage attainment in Ghana.

It was developed by the Ministry of Health (MoH) with funding from the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (UNMPTF) through the technical leadership of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This is in a statement issued by Ibrahim Suhuyini Sayibu, Communications Officer of the WHO, Ghana Country Office, copied the Ghanaian Times.

It said "Health financing has been identified as the key to unlocking progress towards the attainment of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as enshrined in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, especially Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) three."

On average, Ghana's total health spending is lower than comparator Sub-Saharan African and lower-middle income countries. However, it has a relatively higher share of health spending derived from public sources as compared to out-of-pocket sources," the statement said.

According to the MoH, external assistance for health had decreased dramatically as a share of total health spending between 2015 and 2019, falling from 25 per cent to 11 per cent.

"This number is higher on average as compared to other lower-middle income and there is a concern about a lack of significant policy measures needed to facilitate a transition process whereby previously supported donor interventions are sustained with domestic, public financing," it added.

"Ghana has taken very significant steps towards achieving the UHC and we recognised that financing our health ambitions cannot be realised without an effective strategy in place," Mr Kwakye Kontor, the Head of Planning & Budget Unit at the MoH and the lead Coordinator of the review of the Health Financing Strategy, noted.