By Albert Allotey, GNA
Accra, Jan. 10, GNA – The Ghana NCD Alliance (GhNCDA) has called on the government to earmark some percentage of the accrued health harming taxes to fund the health sector, particularly non-communication diseases (NCDs).
This is because major NCDs are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
This was in a Civil Society Status Report on National NCD Response and Landscape in Ghana, initiated by the GhNCDA, a network of NGOs who work in diverse areas of health and development.
The report said the out-of-pocket payment by patients of NCD-related services was on the rise and working against ensuring early detection and treatment due to the financial burden.
It urged the government to regularly review the tax structure to conform with the WHO recommendations and ECOWAS protocol.
“This will effectively increase taxes on all health harming products adjusted to inflation to have real impact and reduce affordability which ultimately lower consumption among young people and the poor, and raise revenue for the government,” it stated.
The report said even though Ghana has been apt in adopting policies in response to its global and regional commitments against NCDs, “we cannot say that the fight is won given that the diseases are continuously damaging our social and economic stability.
“Killing over 94,000 people annually and rendering many children neglected. Driven in large part by exposure to key risk factors including tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealth diet, alcohol use, and air pollution.”
It stated that according to the World Health Organisation: “NCDs are set to overtake communicable diseases, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases combined as the leading cause of mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 if effective interventions are not put in place to curb this epidemic.”
GNA