The Ministry of Health has issued a strategy for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which are a major public health concern in the country.
Last Monday, a strategic debate in Accra introduced the 2022-2026 policy, which was developed in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Prioritizing NCDs to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through partnerships is one of the policy's goals.
It will also focus on NCD prevention and management at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, including health promotion, education on physical inactivity, alcohol use, food, nutrition, and immunization, screening and early detection, clinical treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.
The meeting also discussed how to attain sustainable support to drive the implementation of the NCD agenda towards achieving SDGs 3 and 4 to reduce by half all NCD mortalities by 2030.
Participants included international and national partners, such as heads of missions and ambassadors; the Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, Ingrid Mollestad; the Regional Director of the WHO, Dr Matshidiso Moeti; the Country Director of the WHO; Dr Francis Kasolo; the UNICEF Country Director and representative of development partners, Ann-Claire Dufey; members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, heads of private and public health institutions and traditional leaders.