By Rachel Kakraba
France has committed support to Ghana in the form of technical assistance aimed at strengthening quality health delivery in the country. By doing so, the Ghana Health Service will be well-positioned to deploy national and regional interventions that improve access to health services for the most vulnerable in the areas of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
France, through the Global Fund under the L’initiative project will also support research projects, led by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.
France is a major donor to the Global Fund, which has been supporting Ghana’s HIV, TB and malaria fight for more than 20 years. The project will strengthen Ghana’s health system by scaling up community scorecards, which have been in place since 2018.
Ghana and L’initiative have seen their partnership strengthened in recent years, with about half a million euros in technical assistance, including three hundred thousand Euros dedicated to preparing for the next Global Fund funding cycle (2024-2026)
At the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Accra, Head of Cooperation and Cultural Affairs, French Embassy in Ghana, Julien Lecas, said to ensure that no one is left behind, France and L’Initiative will always be responsive to Ghana’s strides to reach key and vulnerable populations.
“One month ago, we celebrated World Tuberculosis Day, and yesterday, it was World Malaria Day. France would be pleased to support Ghana in its efforts towards these two diseases as well as HIV.
Adding on, he said, “France and L’Initiative will always be responsive to the efforts of Ghanaian organizations to better reach out to key and vulnerable populations, so that no one is left behind.”
He said France was pleased to support Ghana in its efforts against Malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. This, he said, will significantly reduce the disease burden.
Under the initiative, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research will be supported in the secondary prevention of cervical cancer among women living with HIV. Associate Professor of Medicine, Molecular Microbiology, and Virology at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Prof. George Kyei, said about 90 percent of cervical cancer deaths worldwide are from Africa, adding HIV patients are six times more likely to develop the disease. This, he said, makes it imperative to ensure that there is an active screening programme.
“Ideally, we should not be doing a project on this because CC screening should be routine for all women, but unfortunately, it is not the case in Ghana now. Given that 90% of cervical cancer deaths worldwide come from Africa and HIV patients are 6 times more likely to develop the disease. It is imperative for us to ensure that there is an active screening programme in the country for women living with HIV.”
He said, “We must do it in the most cost-effective manner and in a way that is most convenient for the patients and acceptable to both patients and their caregivers as well as other stakeholders.”
Senior Portfolio Manager for the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB, and Malaria, Nicole Delaney, encouraged Ghana to put to good use the resources under the project, as global donor support has been dwindling.
“When I heard what was coming from France huge excitement, and when I heard that a little bit of the money was going to be held back as technical assistance and that Ghana is going to be one of the priority countries, to me that also meant that huge amount because as we all know, the amount of money that is coming from other donors is slowly decreasing.
Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said the scorecard initiative has made a positive impact on healthcare in Ghana by empowering communities and promoting accountability as well as accessibility of healthcare services in rural areas.
“Through the implementation of the scorecard system, communities have been actively involved in monitoring and evaluating the quality and availability of healthcare services in their areas. This has led into increased awareness and recent expansion of the Ghana portfolio within L’Initiative, the well-known program implemented by Expertise France. “
“The Community Scorecards initiative has had a positive impact on healthcare in Ghana. By empowering communities and promoting accountability. The initiative has helped to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services in rural areas, and has contributed to the achievement of universal health coverage in the country,” Dr. Kuma Aboagye added.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has supported Ghana since 2002; in total, more than US$1.2 billion has been signed with the country in the last twenty years. This has allowed CSOs to meet with key and vulnerable populations in Ghana.
