The Association of Health Service Administrators, Ghana (AHSAG), has appealed to the government to raise funding for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to address the utility needs of health facilities.
In a statement signed by Abulais Yaro Haruna, the Public Relations Officer of AHSAG, the association highlighted the challenges faced by hospital facilities, including disconnections by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), which hampers healthcare operations.
The statement emphasized the importance of prioritizing healthcare services and allocating the necessary resources to ensure seamless healthcare delivery and access. It underlined that a healthy population is crucial for economic productivity.
To address the utility bills, AHSAG proposed a substantial increase in NHIS tariffs. The association urged the government to reconsider directives and allow health service providers to negotiate realistic tariffs with the National Health Insurance Authority.
“We believe that this issue needs urgent intervention by the government to sustain the operations of health facilities,” the statement stressed.
Additionally, the release expressed concern about the significant number of health professionals leaving the country for better opportunities elsewhere, posing a substantial threat to quality healthcare delivery and the achievement of Universal Health Care (UHC) by 2030.
AHSAG called on the Ministry of Health to implement effective measures to curb the alarming rate of staff attrition in the health sector.
The association encouraged the government to grant financial clearance for the immediate recruitment of new staff to address the shortage of health personnel in various health facilities, ensuring sustained quality service delivery.
Any further delay, AHSAG warned, could have severe consequences on the health of the existing healthcare providers and the nation as a whole.
However, AHSAG affirmed its commitment to providing effective leadership, complementing government and development partners' efforts to ensure targeted resource allocation and utilization for the expedited achievement of Universal Health Care.