Professor Fred Binka, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) has strongly criticised Ghana’s healthcare system, describing the state of rural health resources as “criminal” and “completely unacceptable”.
Speaking at the Graphic National Development Series in Accra on Tuesday, May 28, Prof. Binka expressed frustration that 60 years after independence, many villages still lack necessities like good water, decent housing, and adequate food.
He questioned the effectiveness of the school feeding programme, wondering how an agricultural country like Ghana could not provide meals for its schoolchildren.
Prof. Binka emphasised the need for a grassroots approach to healthcare, prioritising access to health services, and public health officials in every village, and a focus on prevention rather than cure.
He urged a return to basics, stating, “Do we have good houses for our villages? After 60 years of independence, they are still living in straws. What have we done for ourselves?”
“We need to go back to the basics. The amount of resources being put into health for the rural community, the villages and towns, is completely unacceptable. It is criminal.”
He further noted, “We are an agricultural country and cannot feed our children in schools. Why? This is not a foreign exchange business or? We are helping to generate health complications and we are spending lots of money to correct that.
“Quality health starts with everybody having access to health, and then we can start the milestone of building the health sector gradually,”
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