By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey, GNA
Accra, Feb. 6, GNA – Researchers and policymakers from Africa, South Asia and the United Kingdom have called for urgent, evidence-based reforms to strengthen urban health systems.
The call followed concerns that rapid urbanisation continued to place significant pressure on health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries.
The appeal was made at the Community-led Responsive and Effective Urban Health Systems (CHORUS) Partners’ Meeting held in Accra on Thursday.
The two-day meeting brought together consortium partners to review progress, share lessons and identify pathways for translating research evidence into sustainable policy and systems change.
CHORUS is a multi-country research consortium funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Over the past six years, the programme has operated in Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal and Nigeria to address persistent barriers to equitable, inclusive and resilient urban health systems, particularly for poor and marginalised urban populations.
Prof Genevieve Cecilia Aryeetey, an Associate Professor of Health Economics and Policy at the University of Ghana School of Public Health, said in Ghana the programme had focused on strengthening urban Primary Health Care delivery in the Ashaiman and Madina Municipalities of the Greater Accra Region.
She said working in partnership with the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, CHORUS had collaborated closely with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, municipal authorities, health professionals and community structures.
“Through this collaboration, CHORUS has co-produced policy-relevant evidence and piloted innovative approaches to improve the implementation of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme in dense urban settings,” she said.
Prof Aryeetey, who is also a Principal Investigator for the project, said CHORUS had supported stronger health promotion and disease prevention at household and community levels, contributing to progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
The Accra partners’ meeting brought together institutions including the University of Leeds, the University of York, the University of Ghana, the Health Policy Research Group of the University of Nigeria, the BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, ARK Foundation Bangladesh, HERD International Nepal, the CHORUS central team and representatives of the FCDO.
Partners presented findings from CHORUS projects in four countries, organised around pillars of provider linkages, multisectoral collaboration, disease response, and urban poor engagement.
Discussions also examined cross-cutting issues such as governance, equity, and service delivery challenges common to rapidly growing cities.
Participants noted that after five years of implementation, CHORUS had generated robust evidence with direct implications for national urban health policy, including strengthening primary healthcare, refining CHPS strategies for urban settings and improving health system responsiveness to underserved populations.
The meeting also brought together senior officials of the Ministry of Health, directors of the Ghana Health Service, municipal health authorities, development partners and researchers to examine how CHORUS evidence could inform national policy priorities and medium-term health sector planning.
Dr Sushil Baral, Director of HERD International, Nepal, presented findings on linking private pharmacies with public primary healthcare to strengthen urban non‑communicable disease services.
The findings showed improved screening, follow-up and client satisfaction, and were said to offer transferable lessons for Ghana and Nigeria.
The engagement is expected to provide a platform for translating CHORUS research into policy decisions and practical reforms, as the programme concludes in March 2026.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey