A Medicine Solution and Health Consultant has charged the government of Ghana to view the provision of quality healthcare as a basic human right for the Ghanaian populace.
According to George Yeboah Kesse, the various challenges confronting the country’s health delivery system has cut off a lot of Ghanaians from accessing better healthcare.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the CEO for the Medicine Solution Company, Royal Crown Consult, said the average Ghanaian cannot afford the appropriate drugs prescribed for their treatment when they fall sick mainly due to the high cost factor.
“There are people who live on 5 cedis a day and these people would have to buy medication for 10 cedis and above.
There are pensioners who have to part away with 400 cedis a month for drugs for chronic diseases.
This is a cost the average pensioner cannot afford”, he bemoaned.
The World Health Organization, WHO, has set a benchmark of 80% availability of essential medicines in health facilities, but over 50% of the population in low and middle income countries still lacks access with only 30% of these medicines being available to them in both public and private health facilities.
In Ghana, only 17% of essential medicines are available in public health facilities where majority of Ghanaians seek healthcare.
The situation according to WHO, has forced about 70% of Ghanaians seeking healthcare to resort to traditional or herbal medicines which are considered cheaper and easily accessible
This reality, Mr. Kesse says should occupy the attention of government to deploy the needed technology to address it.
He believes putting the needed systems in place will ensure efficient distribution of drugs and proper management of claims with the National Health Insurance Scheme which will reduce the cost of drugs sold to the average Ghanaian.
“We should deploy the needed technology to affect how people get access to medication through proper financing, and also ensure that the various essential drugs are available in the pharmacies when patients need them” he added.
Royal crown Consult, a new Medicine Solution setup has been leading the country’s drive to remove the cost barrier and other challenges in the healthcare sector through its unique technology.
It has designed products to assist health insurance schemes to reduce the cost of drug claims by 30% , a cost that eventually gets passed onto patients.
