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Health Minister assures international community of government commitment to reduce maternal death cases
The Minister of Health Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has assured the international community of the government’s commitment to drastically reduce maternal death cases, following robust systems put in place to ensure safe pregnancy and delivery.
He said although the country has witnessed an extreme reduction in maternal death cases since 1988, the government is massively investing in the health sector to ensure zero deaths during childbirth.
In a speech read on his behalf at the opening ceremony of the general membership meeting of the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) last week Friday in Accra, the Minister said, that between 2020 and 2022, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its partners provided about $14.4 million worth of Family Planning Products (FPP) in the country.
The partners he mentioned were the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Global Fund and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO).
“Beyond this, they have continuously accompanied us on this journey through technical assistance and mentoring to make sure women have access to a variety of family planning services.
These collaborations, combined with our sustained commitment, have resulted in significant demographic shifts, notably a marked decline in births per woman [(total births per woman reduced from 6.4 in 1988 to 4.2 in 2014 (GDHS)] and reductions in household size [(4.4 in 2010 to 3.6 in 2021- (2021 Population and Housing Census” Agyemang-Manu said.
He said the Ministry of Health’s National E-Health Project, featuring the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) has gained strong prospects.
He explained that the project was a centralized health-data repository ensuring the availability of patient records across the healthcare continuum.
Mr Agyemang-Manu said the project had enhanced patient record portability across all healthcare facilities on the platform, eliminated paper patient folders, reduced container and storage space costs, and reduced patient waiting times between 35-40 per cent.
The RHSC Executive Committee Member Madam Nene Fofana-Cisse thanked member countries for their unwavering commitments to ensuring lives are protected during childbirth.
She said the meeting was to dialogue brainstorm and examine COVID-19’s impact on funding for reproductive health supplies and related markets and supply chains, drawing lessons from how the sector responded, and celebrating its unique resilience.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
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NHIA set to boost its cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), in partnership with a leading private cybersecurity solutions provider in Ghana, CyberHawk Limited, is advancing the Authority’s digital infrastructure to ensure seamless operations.
This is to safeguard the Authority’s digital technologies and maintain the trust of active members of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
In this context, the NHIA Management Information System (MIS) Directorate in the Head Office, on February 11, 2024, launched a three-day brainstorming session on the organization’s cybersecurity enhancement agenda.
The MIS Directorate Ag. Director, Mr. Daniel Blankson explained that the collaborative meeting aimed to scrutinize the NHIA’s Information Technology architecture, identifying potential risks and gapsto enhance its cybersecurity posture.
“By leveraging CyberHawk Limited’s expertise, the NHIA seeks to fortify its defenses against cyber threats, protecting sensitive information and maintaining the trust of its members.”
Mr. Blankson applauded the synergy between the two organizations and underscored the Authority’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to drive its mission forward.
The Head of Information Security and Standards Unit, in the MIS Directorate, Mr. Ebenezer Hooper, highlighted the Authority’s significant milestone on the digital transformation journey.
According to him, the NHIA is actively engaged in fully adopting and implementing modern digital systems to improve its operations.
He said, “The three-day brainstorming meeting will culminate in the development of a robust IT infrastructure, as well as strategic plans to translate security implementations into tangible IT cost savings for the organization.”
“There is the need to form a steering committee or IT advisory committee, operated under the Board, so that they can pay more attention in protecting the huge IT investment while ensuring cyber security-related policies are well protected,” he added.
The Project Manager of CyberHawk Limited, Mr. Chetan Narayana Murthy, lauded the collaboration and anticipated that it would empower the NHIA to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
According to him, “This is a huge project that will greatly benefit the NHIA by implementing robust cybersecurity measures, safeguarding their systems, and ultimately protecting the sensitive information of NHIA members and healthcare providers.”
A Senior Manager of IT infrastructure, Mr. David Asare Addo, and his colleague, a Senior Manager of Applications, Mr. Enock Afanyi, with the MIS Directorate, gave an overview of the NHIA’s current technological landscape.
Present at the meeting were representatives from the Claims, Membership and Regional Operations (MRO), Research, Policy, Monitoring, and Evaluation (RPME), Corporate Affairs, the Audit, Administration, and Human Resource Directorates.
Story By : Vivian Arthur
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
