The World Bank Group has launched a high-level strategic initiative aimed at transforming healthcare delivery across West and Central Africa.
Dubbed “Fit to Prosper: Investing in Health for Jobs and Development: Making Health Work,” the strategy seeks to strengthen health systems in the two sub-regions, making them future-ready while unlocking demographic and economic potential.
If effectively implemented, the initiative is expected to deliver high-quality healthcare services, expand the health workforce, and position the sector as a key driver of job creation. It also emphasises preparedness for pandemics, climate risks, and food security challenges.
Speaking at the launch in Accra on Monday, World Bank Group Vice President, Dr Mamta Murthi, commended Ghana for its implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
According to her, the NHIS demonstrates the government’s sustained commitment to primary healthcare, nutrition, and sustainable health financing systems, which are already yielding positive results.
“Ghana’s health financing system has long been a model to aspiring reformers in the region. As a frontrunner, Ghana shows us how it can be done and what we can learn from its experience. These are not just anecdotes, but proof that the ambitions in this strategy are achievable,” she said.
The Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Julius Debrah, speaking on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, emphasised that economic growth depends on investment in people.
“The future of our economies will not be determined only by what is extracted from the ground, but by what is invested in the people, with health as an economic strategy,” he stated.
He described the strategy as timely and transformative, noting that it challenges countries to reframe health as a driver of growth rather than merely a cost.
On behalf of the government, he expressed appreciation to the World Bank for its continued support, including $424.6 million in COVID-19 emergency projects and $195.5 million in primary healthcare investments.
Mr Debrah added that the strategy aligns with Ghana’s national vision of achieving universal health coverage, strengthening health systems, and ensuring equitable access to quality care.
“Ghana stands ready. We are committed to the successful implementation of this regional strategy. Let us work together to ensure that no mother dies while giving birth, no child suffers from preventable diseases, and no citizen is pushed into poverty by the cost of medical care,” he said.
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, in his opening remarks, stressed that health remains the foundation of human capital, productivity, and sustainable development.
“No country can build a strong economy on the back of a weak health system—where children are malnourished, mothers cannot access safe care, young people lack opportunities to thrive, or families are driven into poverty by the cost of illness,” he said.
BY LAWRENCE VOMEFA-AKPALU
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