Program Manager, Policy and Budget Advocacy at ARHR, Benjamin Oppong-Twumasi
The Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) has urged the government to provide clarity on its Free Primary Health Care program, questioning how it differs from the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Speaking in an interview on GhanaWeb TV, Benjamin Oppong-Twumasi, Program Manager for Policy and Budget Advocacy at ARHR, highlighted the ambiguity surrounding the new initiative.
He suggested that investing more in NHIS infrastructure and ensuring the timely disbursement of funds would have been a more effective approach.
“We don’t even know the difference between the Free Primary Health Care program announced by the government and the NHIS services already being provided. We have been told that this new program will be limited, but when we compare it to NHIS, we don’t see a clear distinction. Instead of introducing a new policy, we believe the government should have invested more in strengthening NHIS infrastructure,” he stated.
Oppong-Twumasi also criticised the government for failing to outline a clear strategy for completing the Agenda 111 hospital projects, initiated under the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration.
“Unfortunately, in the budget, the government was silent on how it plans to advance the Agenda 111 facilities. Over the years, we have seen new governments abandon policies initiated by their predecessors, despite significant taxpayer money being invested. These projects should not be left to deteriorate.”
He further suggested that funds from the COVID levy could have been allocated to completing some of the hospital projects instead of scrapping the levy entirely.
“We believe the government should present clear plans and strategies to complete most of the Agenda 111 projects. The COVID levy, which was widely accepted and, as of 2024, had generated almost GH¢5 billion, could have been used to build at least a few of these hospitals instead of being scrapped,” he added.
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