Health & Education
From The Report: Ghana 2014
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The introduction of structural health reforms and provision management systems over the past decade has enabled the health sector to more effectively confront its persistent challenges. While many indicators are improving, diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are on the rise. There are also persistent concerns about maternal mortality and human waste disposal. The refined roll-out strategy for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), along with a renewed focus on maternal health, investment in new equipment and overall infrastructural upgrades, demonstrates a positive outlook regarding health coverage and disease prevention for Ghanaians. In education, capacity building and knowledge transfer through new training programmes, private universities and public-private partnerships are a top priority. While the budget is robust, overspending and inefficient allocations still impede optimal growth. Hard infrastructure also remains a key challenge and greater investment from the private sector is part of the government’s strategy.

This chapter contains interviews with Frederik Hsu, Deputy Chairman, NMS Infrastructure; and Mark E Smith, Vice-Chancellor, Lancaster University.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Changing lifestyles have made non-communicable diseases a priority as structural reforms are implemented
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The introduction of structural health reforms and provision management systems over the past decade has enabled the sector to more effectively confront its persistent challenges. The refined roll-out strategy for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), along with a renewed focus on maternal health, investment in new equipment and overall infrastructural upgrades, demonstrates a positive outlook regarding health coverage and disease prevention for Ghanaians. Ongoing challenges, however, remain…

Analysis

Taking action: The government has placed an emphasis on updating hospital equipment and training new and existing staff
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Despite budget increases, adequate medical training and staff shortages remain a concern. The government has rolled out several projects to raise the quality and quantity of properly trained staff across the sector. Human Resources The Ministry of Health (MoH) has submitted a new sector-focused human resources policy to the Cabinet for approval by the end of 2014. The staff training programme incorporated in the policy is made up of three segments: pre-service training (leading to professional…

Interview

Building a blueprint: OBG talks to Frederik Hsu, Deputy Chairman, NMS Infrastructure
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Interview:Frederik Hsu How challenging is the financing of large-scale social infrastructure projects in emerging markets? FREDERIK HSU: From our point of view, access to funding has not been the most pressing problem. Indeed, despite short-term uncertainty, there is still considerable appetite for bankable infrastructure projects. For our contract with the Ministry of Health (MoH), Barclays was commended by the Government of Ghana for structuring one of the country’s most competitive infrastructure…

Overview

Passing the torch: Steadily increasing numbers of students will require a better strategy to prioritise development in technical education and infrastructure
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As Ghana’s youthful population becomes increasingly urbanised and more eager for employment, an adequate education framework that prepares students for the workforce, particularly for careers in a modern ICT environment, has become increasingly necessary. The Ministry of Education (MoE), which is responsible for policy development, has invested significantly in new reforms targeting the sector. Although universal access to basic education remains the core ministry priority, a number of new policies…

Interview

OBG talks to Mark E Smith, Vice-Chancellor, Lancaster University
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Interview:Mark E Smith What combination of factors is driving expansion of international universities in Africa? MARK E SMITH: If you look at the high-level signs, economic and overall development within the African continent is clearly on the rise. There are some bumps in various national economies, but overall the medium-term trajectory is heading upwards. One sees mixed economies, rather than concentrating purely on the primary sector. A natural consequence of that is the need for a more…