Ghana: Govt Funding for Vaccine to Increase From 49 Percent to 66 Percent -Boye

The Government Representative at the Ministry of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, has disclosed that the government estimated funding for vaccines will increase from 49% to 66%.

He stated that the government generally pays for an integrated service supply of vaccine services by Ghana Health Service employees, which accounts for roughly 15% of the total cost of distributing vaccines to the populace.

He said this during the opening ceremony of the 2024 annual health summit yesterday in Accra.

He noted that the Ministry of Health has developed a road map to ensure Ghana gradually and progressively shifts from donor financing to domestically self-financing immunisation.

“To achieve the global target of UHC and managed fully self-financed from 2030, the needed leadership support, regulatory and financing mechanisms must be harnessed to advocate for greater domestic revenue mobilization in our efforts to make immunization not just a priority, but an accessible reality for everyone by 2030,” he added.

According to Dr Okoe-Boye, the government has set up the National Vaccine Institute that seeks to coordinate and support the implementation of all activities related to vaccine development and manufacture in the country.

He said the ministry has developed a policy and accompanying bill that seeks to establish a Center for Health Security (CHS) to lay the groundwork for early warning, prevention and risk management.

This is in line with the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis, which have reinforced the need to strengthen the preparedness for effective response to public health emergencies.

“The process will result in the strengthening of proactive multi-sectoral coordination for health security preparedness using holistic cross-sector mechanisms,” he noted.

He added that the ministry has begun discussions to review its Public Health, Act, (Act 851) which was promulgated in 2012. The Act empowers the Ministry of Health and other relevant authorities to take the necessary actions during health crises and emergencies and to coordinate with other sectors and stakeholders to improve public health outcomes.