The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has engaged a delegation from the Global Fund on measures to improve the availability of essential health commodities and strengthen key health programmes in Ghana.

According to a post shared on Facebook by the Ministry, the delegation, led by the Head of the Global Fund’s Grant Management Division, Mark Eldon Edington, discussed Ghana’s co-financing commitments, procurement processes, delays in clearing health commodities and the sustainability of programmes targeting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

Mr Akandoh expressed appreciation to the Global Fund for its longstanding support to Ghana but called for greater alignment of donor-supported programmes with government priorities, particularly the Free Primary Healthcare initiative.

Ghana commits US$38.5m under GC7

The Minister said Ghana had made significant progress towards its co-financing obligations under the Global Fund’s seventh grant cycle (GC7).

He disclosed that about US$38.5 million, representing 85 per cent of the country’s US$45 million commitment, had already been committed.

He said the government was also pursuing the establishment of a dedicated budget line for selected health programmes to strengthen sustainable domestic financing and ensure continuity of critical interventions.

Global Fund raises stock-out concerns

Mr Edington welcomed Ghana’s progress on co-financing but raised concerns over stock-outs of health commodities, procurement inefficiencies and delays in clearing consignments at the ports.

He stressed the need for both immediate measures and longer-term solutions to address the challenges and prevent them from recurring.

The concerns are particularly important for programmes addressing HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, which depend on the timely availability of essential medicines and other health commodities.

Ministry moves to speed up clearance

Responding to the concerns, Mr Akandoh said the Ministry had introduced measures to accelerate the clearance of health commodities.

These include completing shipping documentation before consignments arrive at the ports and increasing competition among clearing agents to improve efficiency.

The Minister assured the Global Fund delegation that the Ministry remained committed to resolving the challenges affecting the supply chain and ensuring the timely availability of essential health commodities.

He said strengthening procurement and clearance processes, alongside sustainable domestic financing, would be critical to supporting quality healthcare delivery and maintaining vital health programmes in Ghana.