Program Manager, Policy and Budget Advocacy of ARHR, Benjamin Oppong-Twumasi
The Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) has called on the government to progressively increase its health sector budget allocation, so as to improve access to primary healthcare and address infrastructural deficits.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb TV on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the Program Manager, Policy and Budget Advocacy of ARHR, Benjamin Oppong-Twumasi, stressed that an increased and equitable health budget is essential for Ghana’s journey towards achieving universal health coverage.
He added that the government’s decision to uncap the National Health Insurance Levy is a good step but cautioned that newly-introduced policies could put a strain on available resources.
“Government has increased allocation to the health sector, which we commend government for. But then, there is more to it, which we have raised a lot of questions that we need government to clarify. So, we think it’s a good budget.
“Government has uncapped the NHIL, which is very good… But then government has also introduced new policies that may also demand funding,” he noted.
He continued, “So, we think that there’s going to be a huge funding gap, because already NHIS out there owes a lot. You agree with me that there have been claims that have not been paid for years now. So, we were very happy when government uncapped the NHIL, thinking that the government will be able to defray these arrears. But then, the introduction of Mahama Cares initiatives, and other policies, we think, is going to take a chunk of the money that has been allocated.”
The Ministry of Health has been allocated GH¢17.82 billion for 2025, reflecting GH¢2.1 billion increase from 2024.
However, this allocation represents only 6.2 percent of the total budget, falling significantly below the Abuja Declaration set in 2021, which targets all African governments to allocate at least 15 percent of their budgets to the health sector.
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