Conference on Financing UHC: Participants resolve to achieve political goodwill, secure adequate funding

At the end of two days of intensive deliberations on possible ways of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Health Security in low-middle-income countries, participants of the maiden regional conference have resolved to commit themselves to policies and interventions that will help achieve the aforementioned objectives.

These resolutions were made to climax two days of knowledge and experience sharing among thirty African countries at the La Palm Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana on October 13, 2023.

In his concluding speech at the closing ceremony, Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority who were the convenors of the seminar outlined some possible ways African countries can pique the interest of their respective funding sources in their activities.

To address the issue of political goodwill, Dr Okoe-Boye charged the administrators of public health schemes to develop great networks with relevant ministries and organizations within their government to create a harmonious working relationship as it will facilitate the approval of their budget and release of funds.

Dr Okoe-Boye noted with optimism that the conference has opened the door for African countries, particularly those who participate in the conference to master creative ways of getting the buy-in of ministries such as Finance, Health, and Road among others.

He believed healthy human relations serve as the catalyst for the express securing of funding for health-related issues.

“The time has come for us to look outside health minister. We have to be having lunch with the Finance Minister, chairpersons political parties, and parliamentary committees. In Ghana, the in-flows are getting many because of my relationship with the Finance Minister’s Family,” he said.

Dr Okoe-Boye also urged the representatives of the countries to go beyond the conference and develop relationships and share knowledge and ideas.

“We have to build collisions. You have to learn to have evening drinks with ministers and relevant stakeholders. Our duty is to make healthcare in Africa the best and we have to work towards it. We have to sustain this platform and keep talking,” he said.

Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health said that “as a continent, we should all come together to take care of our health. Health is wealth so we need to take care of ourselves. The political will and political action are also very important to achieve universal health coverage.

Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi, a Member of Parliament’s Health Committee promised “This conference is springboarding us to our end-of-year meeting where we look at the numbers and we can make a strong case to the Finance Ministry on some of the issues raised here.

The event was crowned with special awards to persons and organizations who played instrumental role in the organization of the forum and Ghana’s health sector in general.

About the conference

The conference marked the commencement of Ghana's NHIS 20th Anniversary and the WHO 75th Anniversary.

The participating countries made presentations on their respective health insurance schemes achievements, challenges and the wayforward in achieving UHC.

In the end, the stakeholders outlined innovations and pathways for African nations to mobilize more domestic resources for financing UHC and Health Security.

There was a strong call for increased investments in UHC and Health Security to achieve effective health systems in low-middle-income countries.

They recommended that more efforts should thus be made to ensure that health remains a priority in low-middle-income countries where governments are struggling to address the global economic downturn, post the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.