Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Reports Findings in Health Planning and Management (The Political Economy of the Pursuit of Universal Health Coverage in Ghana: A Case Study of the National Health Insurance Scheme): Health and Medicine – Planning and Management health

2021 DEC 14 (NewsRx) — By a News Reporter – Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily — New research in health and medicine – Health planning and management is reported. According to news from Kumasi, Ghana, by NewsRx correspondents, the research said, “The path to universal health coverage depends on the resources committed to the health sector. In many cases, political structure and strength of advocacy play an important role in setting budgets for health.

Financial support for this research came from International Development Research Center.

Our news reporters got a quote from the research of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, “However, until recently, this has not been of interest to researchers and health system policy makers. In this study, we document the political journey towards the establishment of the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as well as the continued political interest in the scheme. To achieve our objectives, we used qualitative data from interviews with key informants. These include stakeholders who play a key role in the design and implementation of the SNIS. We also reviewed the party manifestos of the country’s two main political parties. The promises relating to the SNIS were extracted from the various manifestos and analyzed. Other documents that document the design and implementation of the program were reviewed. We found that the establishment of the SNIS was due to political commitment and effective engagement with relevant stakeholders. It was seen as a solution to the political promise to remove user fees and make health care accessible to all. A review of manifestos shows that in almost every election year after the NHIS was established there have been promises related to improving the system. Several policy proposals have been repeated in different election years. The findings imply that advocacy to put health financing on the political agenda is crucial. This should start with the development of party manifestos.

According to the editors, the research concluded: “It is also important to ensure that the policies proposed by the parties are in line with national priorities in the medium and long term.

This research has been peer reviewed.

For more on this research, see: The Political Economy and the Pursuit of Universal Health Coverage in Ghana: a case study of the National Health Insurance Scheme. Health policy and planning, 2021;36. Health policy and planning can be contacted at: Oxford University Press, High Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, England. (Oxford University Press – http://www.oup.com/; Health Policy and Planning – heapol.oxfordjournals.org)

News correspondents report that additional information can be obtained from Charles Lanco, Department of Economics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. Other authors of this research include Jacob Novignon and Eric Arthur.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for this additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czab061. This DOI is a link to a free or paid online electronic document, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Journal editor contact details Health policy and planning is: Oxford University Press, High Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, England.

(Our reports provide factual information on research and discoveries from around the world.)