University of Health and Allied Sciences collaborated with SEND Ghana and The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) to hold a symposium on “Public health emergency funding: The role of academia” at the UHAS Trafalgar campus on June 7. Vice Chancellor Professor Lydia Aziato, who delivered the keynote address, was among an impressive line-up of speakers and panellists that included Professor Evelyn Ansah, Director of the Centre for Malaria Research, IHR-UHAS, as Chairperson. Spearheaded on the UHAS side by The Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, this symposium is expected to become an annual forum for the sharing of ideas with a view to making real impact in public health.
Professor Aziato, in her address, noted that outbreaks mostly occur in countries with weak health systems, poor infrastructure, lack of human and financial resources to rapidly respond to the crisis. “Furthermore, early warning signs, predictions and forward planning were lacking, and a lot of this can be traced back to the lack of resources, including public health emergency funding.”
She added that although international health regulations (IHR) bound countries to better prepare for, detect and respond to epidemics, the same cannot be said for Ghana. Rather, lack of preparedness has contributed to reliance on the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other bilateral partners for funding, post-Covid-19. She, therefore, called on academia to continue to collaborate and brainstorm on the topic for the betterment of Ghana. » Download her full speech here.
The more than 70 in-person and 200 online participants then listened to presentations on the following topics: Public health emergencies: A global challenge and the implications for health systems and policies by Professor Fred Newton Binka, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, FNBSPH-UHAS; Policy frameworks and advocacy in public health emergencies by Dr. Emmanuel Ayifah, Deputy Country Director, SEND-GH; The GHAI epidemic preparedness budget advocacy framework: Building advocacy capacity for domestic resource mobilization towards public health emergencies by Mr. Stephen Atasige, In-country Coordinator, Prevent Epidemics Program, GHAI; Building a resilient pandemic preparedness and response system in Ghana: An overview of a legal analysis for Ghana and proposals for amendment of the IHR and new pandemic treaty by Dr. Bedima Duut, Legal Consultant; and Innovative funding strategies and partnerships: Past, present and future by Dr. John Amuasi, Executive Director (ARNTD) & Senior Lecturer, School of Public Health, KNUST.
The round table discussion, moderated by Professor Kofi M. Nyarko of UESD and Mr. Gregory Amenuvegbe FNBSPH-UHAS, focused on: Public health emergency preparedness, rapid response and funding: The crucial roles of institutions in addressing challenges. It featured an expert panel comprising representatives from academia, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, SEND Ghana, GHAI, and the World Health Organization.