Country Coordinator for Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Stephen Atasige
The Country Coordinator of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Stephen Atasige, has emphasised the need for a dedicated budget line for public health emergencies, including immunisation and outbreak preparedness.
Speaking at a National Dialogue on Public Health Emergency Financing in Ghana, organised by SEND Ghana, on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, he pointed out the urgent need for proactive government interventions in securing funds for critical health initiatives.
“I think the government, as we prepare to present the budget, it will be useful for us to consider a budget line for first public health ventures like immunisation, which is very crucial, and also for emergency preparedness and response. This year alone, we’ve heard about the cholera outbreak, meningitis, and more. And we know that there’s a new possible outbreak that is looming.
“All of these are signs that we have to get proactive by, first of all, ensuring that we have a budget line for this. The budget line will ensure that we are well-equipped financially to respond or to be prepared when these outbreaks come,” he indicated.
Stephen Atasige also called for the repurposing of the COVID-19 Levy as a sustainable funding source for public health emergencies.
“We have always proposed over the period that the COVID-19 Levy serves as a great opportunity for us as a country to increase our domestic health resources,” he noted.
He further noted Ghana’s failure to meet the Abuja Declaration’s recommendation of allocating at least 15% of the national budget to health.
“We know as a country that we are not doing very well when it comes to allocating funds for health through our national budgets. We are signatories to the Abuja Declaration that calls on us to allocate at least 15% of our annual budget for health. That has not been happening over the period,” he lamented.
Stephen Atasige argued that since the pandemic is over, maintaining the COVID-19 Levy without repurposing it lacks justification.
“There is no good rationale for continuing this levy. If we can rationalise it by channeling it to other public health interventions like immunisation, public health preparedness, and response, I believe the Ghanaian people will be happy and will support this,” he added.
Watch him speak in the video below:
JKB/AE
You can also watch as Otumfuo destools Ohwimhene