Harriet Boateng Sarpong
Accra July 24, GNA – Mr Albert Futukpor, an Editor at the Ghana News Agency, has been adjudged the ultimate winner of SEND Ghana Journalists Awards on epidemics preparedness and response financing.
Mr Futukpor, who is at the GNA Tamale office, also won the most impactful story, online category with the story titled: “Epidemic Preparedness Financing And Response: Can Amending And Broadening The Scope Of The COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act Be The Solution?”
He was one of seven journalists awarded at the event, which took place in Accra on July 20, 2023.
The award ceremony, which was in partnership with Global Health and Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), also saw Abigail Annoh, a senior staff of the Ghanaian Times, winning the award for the print category.
Murtala Issah of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) won the award for Best Television Reporting and Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman, a news anchor working for EIB Network – (GHOneTV and StarrFM), winning the category for radio.
Other journalists, who took awards are Benedicta Gyimaah Folley, a journalist with the New Times Corporation as runner up in the print category, Zadok Kwame Gyesi of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), runner up for online reporter category.
The awarded journalists received citations and undisclosed amount of money.
Other awards were presented to non-journalists.
In an interview with GNA on the sidelines of the programme, SEND West Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Siapha Kamara, said Send Ghana’s advocacy on epidemics preparedness financing was courting the interest of government and other stakeholders.
“The presence of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Health Service, the Laboratory Services, the Pharmaceutical Council and other stakeholders, are all indications that the government is interested in what we are doing.
“We are trying to mobilise the public, and engage broad stakeholders in the public sector, that is why you saw a lot of professional bodies that have a stake in the health sector mobilised to maintain the pressure so, that government can deliver on its commitment to prepare Ghana for epidemics, but we are not yet there.”
He said Send Ghana and its partners were looking forward to seeing the government set money aside solely for epidemic financing purposes.
“What we want to see is a clearly allocated Parliament sanctioned budgetary allocation that remains refenced and dedicated for strictly epidemic response, sitting in our treasury that nobody can touch except when epidemics strike.”
The Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North Constituency and a member of the Health Committee of Parliament, Madam Betty Krosbi Mensah, said Parliament was in the process of drafting a vaccine manufacturing bill to ensure Ghana was adequately prepared during emergency health problems.
“When we talk of dedicated funding, we are talking about possibly a percentage on the national health insurance levy, the covid fund and other health taxes…”
The Country Director for GHAI, Stephen Atasige, said: “GHAI is interested in helping government and civil society organisations to advocate for policy change around public health issues that go to save lives…”
“We saw it with Covid, routine emergencies like yellow fever, meningitis, etc…,” he said, noting that though the country had a public health emergency fund policy framework since 2017, it missed several opportunities to set the fund up.
Mr Futukpor expressed joy for winning the award, thanked SEND Ghana for the honour and urged government to expedite action on the matter, adding that, “Covid has taught us that government has no choice, but to set up an emergency preparedness fund”.
GNA