GMA urges government to prioritise PPPs for healthcare infrastructure, governance  

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has appealed to the government to prioritise Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a sustainable approach to addressing Ghana’s growing infrastructure deficit.   

It also called for strengthening of governance and accountability frameworks around PPPs to maximise their benefits for the health sector and the nation.  

In a communiqué issued after its 67th Annual General Conference in Cape Coast, the GMA highlighted PPPs as a viable alternative amid dwindling traditional funding sources.   

Under the theme: “Strengthening PPPs for sustainable health delivery,” the communiqué, signed by GMA President Professor Ernest Yorke and General Secretary Dr Richard Salormey, emphasied the essential role of PPPs in achieving universal health coverage (UHC), given that neither public nor private sectors alone could meet that goal.  

The Association pointed to the shifting global health financing landscape as a driver for increased private sector collaboration to ensure sustainable healthcare delivery.   

According to the GMA, PPPs could enhance health training, infrastructure, quality, commodity access and health tourism, while addressing unemployment among health professionals.  

Despite Ghana’s strong regulatory institutions, the GMA noted gaps in regulatory coherence and governance that needed to be addressed to optimise PPPs.   

The GMA acknowledged with praise, the government’s efforts to deploy PPPs in hospital equipment financing, management of Agenda 111 facilities, and local vaccine production.  

The communiqué also raised concerns about recent disruptions in the Electronic Medical Records System (EMRS), particularly, issues with the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS), which caused data access problems, disrupted patient care continuity, and revealed weak data backup and security measures.   

The GMA urged the government to expedite the rollout of the Ghana Health Information Management System (GHIMS) and establish stronger regulatory frameworks to ensure interoperability, reduce monopoly risks, involve local technology vendors, and secure data ownership and sovereignty.  

Regarding working conditions, the GMA criticised the government’s failure to fully implement the renewed conditions of service for medical doctors and dentists signed in March 2024.   

The Association mentioned key unresolved matters including suspended vehicle import tax exemptions, non-adjustment of non-basic salaries and unpaid 13th-month salaries.  

Others are the decade-long unresolved Academic Clinical Consultants Allowance, which they said had hampered recruitment and retention of clinical lecturers.   

“We want the government to urgently resolve the outstanding issues of conditions of service to avoid industrial unrest,” the communiqué said.  

On the environment, the GMA condemned illegal mining as a serious threat that endangered lives and undermined the nation’s future.   

While acknowledging government efforts to combat the menace, the Association called for sustained and intensified action to protect Ghana’s environment.  

Source: GNA  

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