The government is preparing to fully budget for vaccines and critical medicines ahead of the gradual withdrawal of support from the Global Fund by 2029, the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has disclosed.
He said the government was taking deliberate steps to ensure that Ghana’s healthcare system remained resilient and sustainable even after external support declined.
Dr Forson made the remarks during a meeting with the World Health Organisation’s Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Yakub Janabi, as part of discussions on strengthening Ghana’s health system.
“As support from the Global Fund for vaccines and critical medicines winds down by 2029, we are taking steps to ensure that beginning January 2030, Ghana fully budgets for and finances these vaccines and essential medicines,” the finance minister stated.
He explained that the government’s broader health sector reforms were aimed not only at extending life expectancy but also at improving the quality of life of Ghanaians.
Budgetary releases
Dr Forson said since 2025, the government had implemented major reforms in the health sector, including increasing budgetary releases, uncapping the National Health Insurance Levy and ensuring that the National Health Insurance Authority received its full allocations strictly for health-related activities.
He added that the government was also increasing investments in the fight against non-communicable diseases through the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and the establishment of specialised treatment units across the country.
The finance minister further highlighted the recent launch of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme as part of efforts to expand access to healthcare.
For his part, Dr Janabi commended Ghana’s progress and stressed that a healthy population remained essential for productivity and economic growth.
He also urged African countries to strengthen local medicine and vaccine production, reduce dependence on imports and increase investments in tackling non-communicable diseases.
Background
The Global Fund is a financing institution providing support to countries in response to three diseases, namely HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria.
It remains a major health partner in Ghana, having supported HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes since 2002.
Its significant allocations for 2023–2025 focused on disease control and health system strengthening.
As a top-20 recipient, Ghana is, however, preparing for a gradual transition toward self-financing essential vaccines and medicines by 2030.
In 2024, however, public concern grew after hundreds of containers of essential medical commodities, including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV-related supplies donated by the Global Fund got stuck at the Tema Port for months over clearance and demurrage issues.
Some stakeholders warned that portions of the supplies risked deterioration or expiry, while health facilities faced pressure to maintain treatment programmes.
The Ministry of Health later released funds to clear the containers for distribution nationwide after pressure from civil society groups, Parliament and health advocates.
The current government’s officials and health experts have since intensified discussions on vaccine sovereignty, with plans aimed at supporting local pharmaceutical manufacturing, improving health security and positioning Ghana as a vaccine production hub in West Africa.
Last year, President John Dramani Mahama appealed to the international community to prioritise saving lives through vaccination over military spending.
He described the funding decision as a fundamental moral choice for the international community, adding: “it’s a choice we have to make between taking lives and saving lives, and I am sure we will save lives instead of taking them”.
Addressing a global health summit organised by Gavi and the Gates Foundation in Brussels, the President drew contrasts in military spending with the cost of saving lives through vaccination.
He said the $9 billion fund which Gavi, the vaccine alliance, sought to fund live-saving vaccines for routine immunisation over five years against preventable diseases was equivalent to the cost of four B-2 Spirit bombers, the special combat military jets.
The B-2 Spirit bomber costs $2.13 billion.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
