As we reflect on Universal Health Coverage day (UHC) from the end of last year, it seems that 2019 was an important year in Ghana’s journey towards achieving the target of UHC by 2030. According to the WHO, UHC is achieved when all people and communities can have access to the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative health services they …
Ghana’s Minister of Health launches the National HTA Steering Committee and calls for HTA institutionalisation in the country
On Friday 4th October 2019, members of the International Decision Support initiative (iDSI) were invited to the Ministerial Inauguration meeting of Ghana’s first National Health Technology Assessment (HTA) steering and technical committees for HTA. The invitation acknowledged iDSI’s 11 years of active involvement in the country advocating for prioritising evidence-informed decision making in Ghana
5th AfHEA Biennial Scientific Conference – Securing PHC for all: the foundation for making progress on UHC in Africa
With thanks to Liam Crosby iDSI contributed extensively to the 5th Biennial African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA) conference 2019, including organising 10 sessions and bringing over 30 researchers and experts to the conference, strengthening our collaborations with African partners. The conference occurred as iDSI turns its focus increasingly towards Africa, working to support decision-making and health priority-setting across …
Balancing budgets and coverage on the road to determining Health Benefit Packages: iDSI hosts three major events bringing together policy-makers from around the world
Although needs and available resources will undoubtedly differ by country, many face similar challenges on the road to determining an essential package of health benefits as part of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). As part of three recent events, which saw hundreds working in health policy gather in Accra, Liverpool and London, iDSI sought to delve into important factors that guide …
Health Technology Assessment proves a hit as almost 100 delegates attend sustainable resource allocation event in Accra
Almost 100 delegates policy representatives from across Africa and Europe gathered in Accra, Ghana this month for a special event that focused on sustainable resource allocation policies for low and middle income countries (LMICs), co-hosted by iDSI and Health Technology Assessment international (HTAi). The two-day ‘Setting Priorities Fairly: Sustainable Policies for Effective Resource Allocation’ event, opened Ghana’s Deputy Minister for …
60 seconds with… Dr Justice Nonvignon
iDSI caught up with Dr Justice Nonvignon, a senior lecturer and health economist at the University of Ghana, ahead of a special event in Accra later this month that focuses on sustainable policies for effective resource allocation in Africa. As part of the two-day event, Justice will lead on a workshop session highlighting international case studies of Health Technology Assessment …
7 key messages from the new iDSI report “Improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare services in Ghana through HTA”
In Africa, the burden of communicable diseases, maternal and child morbidities and mortalities is fast shifting towards chronic non- communicable diseases, giving rise to a phenomenon known as “double burden of illness”. Given that few domestic resources are allocated to health, and externally provided funds are committed to siloed disease programmes, there is an urgent need to develop practical and …
Prof Jo Lord and Dr Kalipso Chalikidou visit Ghana to continue work on optimising hypertension care pathway
The Global Health and Development group at Imperial College London (formerly NICE International) has worked with the Ghanaian authorities, under the leadership of the country’s Ministry of Health for a number of years, with support from the UK’s Department for International Development and more recently the Rockefeller Foundation and PATH under ADP. Since the last visit in April 2016 at which …
First steps towards HTA and priority setting in Ghana
Dr Francoise Cluzeau, Associate Director NICE International and Prof Jo Lord from Southampton Health Technology Assessment Centre ran a workshop in Accra with a multi stakeholder working group to help them develop a health economics model for the pharmacological treatment of hypertension and using the Ghana national Standard Treatment Guidelines. The workshop was coordinated by the Directorate of Pharmaceuticals of …
Project work in Ghana 2012 – 2014
click here for the latest on iDSI activity in Ghana. Between 2012 and 2014, the Rockefeller Foundation funded NICE International to support a series of initiatives with the Ministry of Health and associated agencies, including The National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA), The Ghana Health Service (GHS, the largest provider agency) and the Ghana National Drugs Programme. The key objective of this …