Network of Care Technical Meeting: Stakeholders deliberate on improving primary healthcare delivery

A meeting of health professionals and experts from the World Health Organization, some sub-Saharan countries, and representatives of various organizations in the health sector is underway in Accra.

The forum dubbed, Network of Care Technical Meeting commenced on Thursday, December 9, 2022, with resolve by all stakeholders to make substantial and impactful contributions to the discourse on improving primary healthcare.

The three-day summit sets out to provide a platform for all stakeholders in the health sector to converge under one roof to deliberate on ways of creating an interconnected relationship among healthcare providers to improve the delivery of primary healthcare.

Speaking at the opening day, the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu reiterated the commitment of the government to maternal healthcare.

In a speech read on his behalf by Dr Barnabas Yeboah, the minister said that primary healthcare forms the foundation and bedrock of Ghana’s healthcare system and that improving it will positively impact the overall healthcare delivery system.

He emphasized that the government is working towards increasing access to maternal and primary healthcare delivery as it is determining factor in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“Ghana has always been committed to improving maternal and child health outcomes through the development of policies, strategies, and programs that have a high impact to ensure the efficient and effective functioning of the overall system.

“Primary Health Care is the bedrock of the health system in Ghana and critical for the attainment of Universal Health Coverage is provided at the district level where most of our morbidities and mortalities are more prominent. In this regard, we have invested more in our PHC programming through CHPS and QoC improvement methods.

“Access to quality maternal and child health services are also crucial to achieving the SDG-related goals. Women of fertility age are a core segment of the population that requires healthcare services such as family planning, antenatal care, skilled delivery, and post-natal care. These are areas that have received a lot of attention, especially with maternal healthcare delivery”.

Dr Allisyn Moran, a Health Consultant with the World Health Organization underscored the importance of the meeting towards the advancement of primary and maternal healthcare delivery.

She espoused that the Network of Care Technical Meeting will develop policies and measures that will enhance a connected web between all elements of the healthcare system.

“The meeting is to improve the existing system and improve on the relationship between different types of health workers, institutions, and the communities and societies to improve the efficiency of the existing system. It will help accelerate the progress toward achieving the SDGs.

Dr. Mrs. Alberta Adjebeng Biritwum-Nyarko of the Ghana Health Service outlined the benefits previous meetings produced and expressed the hope that the latest one will lead to the betterment of Ghana’s health system.