Health & Education
From The Report: Ghana 2013
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The continuing implementation of expansive reforms, including the Single Spine Salary Structure and updates to the National Health Insurance Scheme aimed at providing universal health care, made 2012 a turbulent year for Ghana’s health sector. The Ministry of Health has seen its budget swell as the government attempts to address deficiencies in the sector, and remains committed to delivering universal health care through infrastructure upgrades and enhanced staff development. Although some indicators have been declining, the overall health of Ghanaians has improved in recent years, and seems set to continue on an upward trajectory into 2014. As the largest recipient of state funding in the country, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is tasked with transforming the country’s economy from resource- to knowledge-based and ensuring that graduates are prepared to enter the fast-changing workforce. The main focus of the MoE’s strategic plan for 2010-20 is to provide basic education to all children, bridge the gender and accessibility gaps, and emphasise science and technical education.

This chapter contains interviews with Dr Pilar Mateo Herrero, President, Inesfly; and Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Universal challenge: Infrastructure upgrades and enhanced staff development to boost coverage
OBG
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The continuing implementation of expansive reforms, including the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and updates to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) aimed at providing universal health care to its citizens, made 2012 a turbulent year for Ghana’s health sector. Despite sharp budget increases to the Ministry of Health (MoH) over the past several years, growing pains within the SSSS – implemented in 2010 and designed to reduce long-term wage bills – led to strikes across the health…

Analysis

Engineering change: Implementing an efficient health care model through policy reform and fiscal decentralisation
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As the Ghanaian health care sector grapples to absorb a rising number of new patients each year, the government has made a push for decentralisation. For the most part, this is aimed at accelerating the transfer of responsibility for provision from the central government to the country’s 10 regions and 216 districts. Though administrative and fiscal decentralisation was advanced after establishing the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in 1996 and National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004, and…

Interview

OBG talks to Dr Pilar Mateo Herrero, President, Inesfly
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Interview:Dr Pilar Mateo Herrero What are the advantages to manufacturing health care products in Africa? DR PILAR MATEO: Usually it is very common within the health care industry to produce in Europe and export the finished products to Africa. However, we believe there is no reason why our types of products, which are designed to fight malaria and other diseases in Africa, cannot be produced here where they are most needed. With the right equipment, proper procedures and controls, and quality…

Interview

OBG talks to Ernest Aryeetey, Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana
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Interview:Ernest Aryeetey To what extent do accreditation criteria need to be strengthened or better enforced in Ghana? ERNEST ARYEETEY: The way the national accreditation board pursues accreditation does not really distinguish between different types of institutions. All public universities are seen as equal, but in fact they all have different endowments, resources and strengths. It would be good to benchmark different institutions by some accepted standard in relation to the type of university,…

Overview

Prioritising knowledge: Population growth provides an incentive to develop education infrastructure
OBG
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The government’s focus on increasing its social capital is demonstrated in the size and scope of its education budget. As the largest recipient of state funding in the country, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is tasked with transforming the country’s economy from resourceto knowledge-based and ensuring that graduates are prepared to enter the fast-changing workforce. Strong population growth and commitment to meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have put pressure on the…