Stakeholders in the health sector have made a passionate appeal to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to commit at least $2 million to the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria through the Global Fund’s 7th replenishment.
The call was made at a one-day interactive session held in Accra on Monday.
Cecilia Senoo, the Executive Director of Hope For Future Generations, one of the stakeholders, said Ghana which has so far received more than $1.2 billion in financial support from the fund for various programs to fight the three diseases must make a pledge to sustain the fund’s support.
She stressed that failure to do so may jeopardize the health of Ghanaians, especially persons living with HIV and TB.
“We call on the government to be part of the fight [against HIV, TB and malaria] and support the Global Fund replenishment… Ghana as an implementing country that has been receiving money and resources from the global fund and cannot sit on the fence. We call on the government of Ghana to announce a pledge. We are expecting at least $2 million from Ghana,” she said.
A former chairman of the Ghana country coordinating mechanism of the Global Fund, Collins Agyarko-Nti said the gains Ghana has made from the fund require that it contributes to the 7th replenishment to enable it continue with the work it has been doing to support the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in the country.
“I will plead with the government to look at the investments that the fund has made in Ghana over the last 20 years and make a commitment. For instance, Global Fund came out with an initiative to provide affordable malaria medicines between 2010 and 2013. This was a good initiative that helped the people of this country. We appeal to President Akufo-Addo to make a commitment so that Ghana will continue to benefit from the increased investment of the global fund,” he said.
Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, the president of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET) said, “our neighbouring countries and even countries with GDP far lower than Ghana are all pledging so Ghana has no excuse in failing to pledge. As we celebrate 20 years of the Global Fund, and Ghana AIDS Commission, we are asking that Ghana makes a commitment towards the 7th replenishment. Looking at how much Ghana has benefited from the Global Fund, we can be sure that the country will get even in 100 folds what it commits to the Global Fund.”
Highlighting some of the successes of the Global Fund’s intervention in Ghana, he said the coverage of antiretroviral therapy in Ghana had increased to over 70% and AIDS-related deaths decreased by 35% between 2010 and 2021.
On Tuberculosis, the Global Fund’s support has ensured that TB-related deaths are reduced from 12% between 2010 and 2021 and a 60% success rate in the treatment of TB.
“Malaria-related deaths decreased more than 85%, from 2,799 in 2012 to 308 in 2020,” he said.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the Global Fund supported Ghana to make available medical oxygen through 3 new PSA plants, 12 modular oxygen concentrators, 648 patient monitors, and 176 ventilators to treat the most severe of the 170,000 reported cases in Ghana.
In 2019, the government of Ghana pledged $1 million to the Global Fund Replenishment, as its contribution towards the fight against HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but did not honour the pledge.
The Global Fund, championed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, has been supporting Ghana since 2002 to strengthen health systems.
The Global Fund is a financing institution, providing support to countries in the response to the three diseases.
The fund is hoping to raise $18 billion from the 7th replenishment whose main event takes place on 18th and 19th September 2022 in the US to save at least 20 million more lives.
The stakeholders involved in the advocacy from Ghana include Hope for Future Generations, Young Health Advocates (YHAG), Ghana Network of Associations of Persons Living with HIV (NAP+), Stop TB Partnership, Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Malaria, TB Voice Network, Global Fund Advocacy Network (GFAN Africa), and the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network (GHANET).