Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
WHO Ghana collaborated with the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, allied institutions, partners, and other stakeholders to deliver various interventions in support of the Government of Ghana's health sector agenda in 2023. These interventions were delivered through our five pillars namely (i)Communicable Diseases and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), (ii) Life Course (iii), Emergency Preparedness and Response (iv) Healthier Population and (v) Corporate Services and Enabling Functions.
Several achievements were made in these five operational areas.
In the area of communicable and non-communicable diseases, WHO supported the country to accelerate progress towards pediatric HIV and TB targets including triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of the disease. Surveillance for gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis (g-HAT) was also strengthened, the first STEP survey was conducted, and mental health integrated into the primary health care. Ghana, with WHO's technical support, also demonstrated the value of the RTS,S Malaria vaccine through its participation in the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP), contributing significantly to the global understanding of the vaccine.
Furthermore, our public health emergency preparedness and response support was strengthened through various capacity building of health workers and data managers. Ghana was supported to respond to public health emergencies including the Lassa fever outbreak and anthrax. The Lassa fever outbreak was contained in one month in the affected region. WHO also supported the response to the flooding in the Volta Region, averting outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases that are transmissible through water or food contamination.
In the year under review WHO also provided support to the government in scaling up the capacity of the Ministry of Health, at all levels, to address health systems challenges as pertains to health financing/economics and Human resources for Health in Ghana. WHO supported the development of a policy-note and recommendations on Ghana health taxes to advocate for increases in taxes in tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages. With support from WHO AFRO and the WCO, WHO provided technical support and guidance in the development of the MOH HIS strategic plan to provide strategic directions for Health Information Management in the health sector. The Ghana Demographic Health Survey 2022 was also finalized and disseminated in 2023.
In the efforts to promote a healthier population, WHO supported the strengthening of food safety emergency management, thereby promoting food safety in the country. WHO also supported the revision of Ghana’s Essential Nutrition Package and Harmonized the climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment in Ghana.
Finally, WHO initiated 68 bilateral partner engagements (up by 46% from 2022) and successfully maintained the country office fundraising efforts that secured USD 1.9m. The appropriate partner recognition and donor visibility was boosted via an unprecedented increase of social media posts, enabling more ‘live’ public engagement on key health issues and milestones of the year.