Albert Allotey
Accra, Sept. 9, GNA – The Ghana NCD Alliance (GhNCDA) has joined the NCD Alliance Global to commemorate the Global Week for Action 2022 (GW4A) with call on government to make Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) financing a development priority.
The celebration of the Global Week for Action on NCDs is to campaign for governments to bridge the huge investment gap in NCD control and prevention as well as urging for the building of resilient health systems.
A statement signed by Mr Labram Musah, the National Coordinator of the GhNCDA and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said: “We need urgent investment now to turn the devastating tide of NCDs.”
It said financing NCDs has stagnated at a pitiful 1-2 pe r cent of development assistance for health for two decades, causing many deaths and pushing millions more into extreme poverty due to exorbitant healthcare costs and disability.
“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), NCDs kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 71 per cent of all deaths globally.
“Although the burden is universal, low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately hit the hardest. Without adequate measures to forestall this growing burden, the number is projected to grow to 52 million people annually by 2030 according to the NCD Alliance,” the statement noted.
It said the underlying drivers of this burden were attributed to poor eating patterns, lack of physical activity, air pollution, and the use of tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
The statement said according to the WHO NCD Monitor, NCDs account for about 42 per cent of deaths and 31 per cent of disease burden and kill an estimated 94,400 persons each year in Ghana.
“Studies in the general population have estimated that six per cent of the population in Ghana has diabetes with the prevalence increasing with age and being higher in urban than in rural areas (PubMed Central).
“The increasing burden of NCDs in Ghana results in poor mental and physical health, premature mortality, and increase costs of living for individuals, families, and healthcare services,” it stated.
The statement said according to the WHO the socioeconomic costs associated with NCDs made the control and prevention of these diseases a major development imperative for the 21st century hence, the urgent need to prioritize NCDs as a developmental agenda both at the national and global levels.
The GhNCDA, therefore, commends the National Development Planning Commission for taking initiatives to prioritise NCDs within the National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework 2022-2025; which provides a great opportunity for Ghana to showcase the commitments to NCDs prevention and control.
The statement called on the Ministry of Finance to consider in the 2023 budget an increase in taxes on health-harming commodities such as alcohol, tobacco, and sugar-sweetened beverages to raise domestic resources.
“This can serve as an alternative source of funding for health related NCDs financing, improve health outcomes, and reduce the healthcare expenditure of government. It is important to note that most NCDs are not on the National Health Insurance benefit package, hence the need to support the scheme adequately to treat NCDs.
It said investing in NCD prevention would save money and lives, which was critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.4. “Scaling up and accelerating action on NCDs should be seen as the fulfilment of a promise by governments rather than a choice. The time to Invest to protect a healthier population is now”.
GNA