Accra, Ghana - The Africa Regional Conference on Financing Universal Health Coverage and Health Security has been held in Ghana with a call on countries to strengthen investment in the health sector to reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure burden on people.

“COVID-19 has demonstrated that when health is at risk, everything is at risk. Therefore, investment in health is also an investment in protecting our societies & economies,” says the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his address to delegates.

The conference, which was organized by Ghana’s Ministry of Health, WHO and the Ghana National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) with support from other partners was aimed at bringing together stakeholders from 30 of the 47 WHO African countries to share ideas and experiences on how to overcome financial barriers and provide financial risk protection towards better and cost-effective outcome.

Delivering the opening remarks, Ghana’s Minister of Health, Hon Kwaku Agyeman-Manu urged African governments to find suitable solutions to ensure that populations are protected from catastrophic expenditures.

“We need reforms to improve the health security of the region, contribute significantly and impact positively towards preparedness and response to public health emergencies and contribute to the Global Health Security Agenda”.

In a speech read on her behalf by the WHO Representative to Ghana, Prof Francis Kasolo, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti called for greater political will and concerted action needed to accelerate the expansion of service access and reverse the worsening trend of financial hardship in the continent. 

“We need to scale up coverage of social protection mechanisms for people and continue to take every opportunity to advocate for increased investment in health and translate governments’ commitment to health into reality,” she noted.

The conference was organized as part of the 75th anniversary of WHO and the 20th anniversary of the NHIA. It brought together over 150 experts on health economics, financing, health policy and health systems from across the continent.