November 15

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News
DAILY
Ghana spends
GH¢26.5b annually on
employee illness in
health sector –GMA
achieve Universal Health Coverage and
BY KOJO ANSAH
Vision as spelt out in the Astana Declaration
of 2018 hinges largely on a healthy and wellmotivated
workforce .
THE GHANA Medical Association (GMA)
has estimated that Ghana loses at least
It, therefore, called on the Ministry of
GH¢26.5 billion annually on employee illness Health, and for that matter government, to
in relation to productivity cost in the health ensure that "human resource analysis is done
sector alone due to poor physical
with an information system so developed to
environment in most health facilities, track worker availability and distribution in
excessive workload and pressure, as well as the health facilities, advertising and managing
financial stress which affects the health and the recruitment process".
well-being of health sector workers.
Also it wants the development and
At a presser held in Koforidua last Sunday immediate implementation of a deprived
by GMA to end its 60th Anniversary and area incentives scheme which includes salaryrelated
motivations and opportunity for
2018 Annual General Conference, President
of GMA, Dr Frank Ankobea, noted that career upgrade and promotions for health
,"Health workers in Ghana are constantly workers who accept posting to deprived
faced with work overload and pressure and areas.
as result of that they pay little attention to The GMA also believes that workload
their diet and do not get enough exercise, stress could be addressed if health facilities
rest and sleep.
are furnished with equipment and logistics to
All these increase risk for both acute and reduce the use of manpower in most cases.
chronic communicable and noncommunicable
diseases such as cancer, staff accommodation challenges must be
It also believe that health infrastructure and
cardiac conditions, MSD (Mascular Skeletal addressed to provide sound mind for staff.
Disorders) and pain syndromes."
On the human resource deficit of 1:8000
"Given an estimated number of 109,425 doctor -patient ratio, which is far above
employees in the health sector, a daily WHO standard of at most 1:5000, worsening
average wage of GH¢49 and average of five pressure on doctors.
days’ sick off per year (MOH WISN
The GMA takes very serious view of this
study,2013), it is extrapolated that at least the development and will like to state that the
health sector is likely to lose GH¢26.5 billion citing of lack of financial clearance as the
•Prince Akpah (2nd l) with some reason of the for non-posting students of medical
to employee illness per year in terms of
productivity cost" the GMA president said.
According to the GMA, Ghana's ability to
doctors/dentists by the Ministry of Health is
unacceptable".
•Mrs Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, Fisheries Minister and
Christopher Lamora, Chargé •Dr d’Affaires Frank Ankobea, of the US president, Embassy GMA
Mighty Construction
furnishes MTTD office
BY KOJO ANSAH
AS PART of its
Corporate Social
Responsibility,
Management and staff
of Mighty
Construction
Company on Wednesday, November
7, 2018, presented office equipment
to the office of th Motor Transport
and Traffic Division (MTTD) of the
Ghana Police Service in Koforidua in
the Eastern Region.
The items donated to the MTTD
office include four office tables, five
office chairs, a fridge, eight sets of
curtains, an air conditioner and a set
of stuffing chairs, whose cost totalled
GH¢ 21,000.
The Managing Director of the
company, Mr. Emmanuel Offei-
Awuku, who made the donation on
behalf of the company, commended
the police for their support in
clamping down on crime in various
areas in the region and the country as
a whole.
According to Mr. Offei-Awuku,
the donation was part of the
company’s Corporate Social
Responsibility, and that their
donation fulfilled a request from the
MTTD office to support the office in
HERITAGE, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2018 WWW.DAILYHERITAGE.COM.GH
Stop allocating NHIA funds to MPs, others - GMA
BY KOJO ANSAH
THE GHANA Medical Association
(GMA) has called on the
Government to supend all
allocations from the National
Health Insurance Authority
(NHIA) Funds to ancillary
programs, including allocation to
Members of Parliament.
"Government should suspend
using NHIA funds for other
purposes, " the GMA said.
Addressing the media in
Koforidua on Sunday to round off
its 60th Anniversary and 2018
Annual General Conference,
President of GMA, Dr.Frank
Ankobea, stated that the Asociation
was mindful of the various
challenges facing the financing of
healthcare in Ghana and their
impact on health service delivery
and so wanted the government to
take pragmatic measures to ensure
that the NHIS, which is the biggest
social intervention in the country
providing affordable healthcare to
all Ghanaians, would not collapse.
The Association has therefore
recommended to government
to additionally ensure that “Health
Service providers and the NHIA
improve gatekeeping roles to
prevent double claims payment for
undelivered services and overinvoicing."
Also, the GMA said it wanted
improvement in the funding
models, claims submissions and
processing by electronic means,
internal audit system, and
punishment for offenders, corrupt
staff members and service
providers.
In addition, GMA has opined
that "NHIA should take the
necessary steps to fix right and
realistic tarrifs , urging the
government to take immediate
steps to ensure direct transfers of
National Health Insurance Levy
(NHIL) to NHIL account at Bank
of Ghana and abort the current
practice of paying the NHIL into
the Consolidated Account.
GMA also has recommended to
•Officials of MTTD and Mighty Construction
•Dr Frank Ankobea,
president, and some
members of GMA
the government to "explore
additional funding sources, which
include the use of heritage taxes
from natural resources, tourism and
taxes on goods and services to
bridge the funding gap in
executing their work diligently.
Speaking to the media after the
donation, Mr. Offei-Awuku pleaded
with the Police Administration in the
country to be more vigilant on
healthcare financing, and finally ,
"as matter of urgency, review its
policy of monopolising the
purchase of core drugs by health
facilities from Central and Regional
Medical stores as this has resulted
persons who want to
commit crimes, especially
within populated areas in
the country, assuring the
Administration that the
company would continue to
support the Police Service
as and when the need would
arise.
The Managing Director
said the gesture from the
company would go a long
way to assist the police
service to combat crime in
the region. According him,
that was not the first time
and would not be the last
time his company shall
render such a gesture to the
Ghana Police Service once
he had come to understand
that the service needed
more support.
The Regional MTTD
commander, Chief
Superintendent Prince Jude
Cobbinah, with joy, received the
donation and expressed the profound
gratitude of the MTTD office to the
Managing Director and his company
in acute shortage of some
essential medicines in health
facilities across the country".
GMA has meanwhile
described as unacceptable the
government’s failure to
employ newly-trained and
qualified medical doctors
and dentists, despite the
disproportion in the doctorto-patient
ratio.
"It is worrying that newlyqualified
medical doctors
/dentists as well as those
who have completed
housemanship over several
months are currently staying
at home unemployed, wasting
away to the detriment of
health care delivery in the
country.
“The GMA takes very
serious view of this
development and will like to state
that the citing of lack of financial
clearance as the reason for nonposting
of medical doctors/dentists
by the Ministry of Health is
unacceptable," the GMA said..
for the kind gesture, saying the
donation would be used for the
intended purpose.
The Superintendent of Police
used the opportunity to call on
corporate organizations, other
institutions and philanthropists to
emulate what Mr Offei-Awuku and
his company had done.
Mighty Construction Company
Mr. Awuku said Mighty
Construction Company is a
construction firm whose contracting
model is mainly based on
Engineering, Procurement and
Construction Management.
According to him, the company
believes in the future and prosperity
of the country so it commits itself to
a higher order of professionalism and
character.
The company, which has a good
project history in the country, is
currently constructing a multipurpose
sports stadium in the Eastern
Regional capital, Koforidua, and that
the company’s construction services
include building, road rehabilitation,
bridge and industrial constructions
and general civil works.
2019 Budget will
bring relief to
Ghanaians – Kofi
Ameyaw
BY NANA KWABENA AGYARE
A MEMBER of the
communications team for the
New Patriotic Party, Kofi
Ameyaw, has urged Ghanaians
to remain calm, assuring them
that the 2019 budget to be
read today, Thursday, will
bring hope and relief to their
suffering.
He stated the 2019 budget
would be a true reflection of
what the Nana Akufo-Addoled
administration promised
Ghanaians ahead of the 2016
general election because this
would be the first time that
the budget wouyld not be
under the restrictions of the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF).
"This budget will be a
reflection of Nana Addo's
policies and programmes
because it won't come under
the restrictions of the IMF."
"Meaning we are going to
have a rare impact of the
President's well thought-out
budget based on his
assessment of the country,"
he said.
He added this would afford
the government the
opportunity to channel funds
into the various sectors of the
economy that need to be
attended to, thus improving
on the quality of life of
Ghanaians.
Speaking on ‘Yensempa’
which airs on Agoo TV, Mr.
Ameyaw said should this
budget fail to bring relief and
improvement in the lives of
the citizenry, then Ghanaians
could say the NPP
government has failed them.
“Beyond this budget, if we
don’t see any significant
improvement with regard to
our economic fortunes, then
there would be hard times
ahead,” Ameyaw said.
According to him, the
Government has, since
assuming power, laid the
various foundations to ensure
that the ordinary Ghanaian
sees an improvement in their
lives.
•Osabarima Professor
Opare Addo
•Kofi Ameyaw, member of NPP communication team