Accra, Ghana//-STAR-Ghana Foundation says it is gearing up to track the government’s health sector commitments to ensure that it implements its promises made to the people during the 2024 general elections.
To this end, senior officials of the Foundation at a day’s health convening said they would set up a comprehensive manifesto tracker to thoroughly monitor the government commitments in the country’s health sector.
This is crucial in enhancing accountability and evidence-based engagement with policymakers, and development partners, among others.
Speaking at the day’s National Convening on Tracking Government Commitments in the Health Sector organised by the Foundation with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Portfolio Manager, Right to Services at the Foundation, Raymond Danso underscored the importance of developing a structured approach to tracking key indicators in the health sector.
“We have gathered to look at the key manifesto promises, the key themes, the different intervention areas, and looking at how best we’ll be able to monitor progress and also support the government to be able to achieve that vision”, he said.
Mr Danso continued: “One of the things we have tried to do is to put up a manifesto tracker, which essentially will guide our work in terms of what are we monitoring, how are we collecting the data, how are we analysing the data, and what feedback we are giving to the government, and for which reason where areas that we need to intensify our advocacy.
So that is the purpose for this convening, is to strengthen our collective advocacy and to make it clear for us what we are going to monitor as part of government efforts within the health ecosystem.”
Later in an interview with journalists after the opening session, Mr Danso welcomed the government’s decision to uncapping of the National Health Insurance (NHIS) levy in the recent 2025 budget.
He noted that the full allocation of funds to the health insurance sector is a significant milestone as it directly impacts private hospitals, free primary healthcare initiatives, and overall health sector funding, which is a major win for health financing in the country.
“The health insurance levy, and as you rightly saw in the recent budget, the Minister for Finance has been clear that the allocation for the health insurance levy will be given to the health insurance sector.
And we think that this is a big relief because then private hospitals will be receiving their reimbursement or claims. The government will be able to also work towards free primary health care and all the other interesting interventions that the government has set itself to achieve within the next four years.”
Mr Danso credited this feat to the work of the Foundation and other NGOs saying,“ I think if you look at the genesis of our work and where we are, I think that we are very excited to see some of the things that we propose together with other partners even beyond the manifesto reflected in the present budget statement”.
That is quite a relief. There are still areas that will need to be worked on and I think that is part of what we are also prepared to do to look at other policy alternatives, and best practices to propose to the government for its adoption and onward implementation, according to him.
“It’s great to see your advocacy yielding results, but sustained monitoring, research, and public engagement will be key to ensuring these commitments translate into real improvements in Ghana’s healthcare system”, Mr Danso stated.
The convening which formed part of the Foundation’s Inclusive Elections & Accountable Governance in Ghana Project (Phase III) of the Gender Rights and Empowerment Project (G-REP) brought together key stakeholders, including civil society organizations, health sector practitioners, advocacy groups and the media.
