Research Highlights Poor Funding for NCD Prevention and Control in Ghana

Accra: There is insufficient funding for the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and control programme in Ghana, according to the Research Team on the UK NIHR-funded Project on STOP-Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Ghana Intervention Co-Design. The team noted that revenues from the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2023 were directed to the consolidated fund, rather than being allocated to NCD-specific programmes, and there has been a decline in donor support.According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Dominic Anaseba, a Qualitative Researcher, emphasized that despite considerable progress over the past two decades in policy development for NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes, and mental health, funding remains a significant challenge. The £10 million STOP-NCD project aims to improve the health of West African populations by enhancing capacity for high-quality applied NCD research, focusing on prevention, diagnosis, and management of these diseases.The project, involving partners from Ghana, Niger, Burkina Faso, a nd the United Kingdom, is currently in its second phase. This phase focuses on co-producing context-tailored intervention packages with stakeholders, building on insights from the first phase which explored effective pathways to prevention and primary care management of NCDs.A report by the World Health Organisation in April 2022 highlighted the alarming increase in NCD-related deaths in Africa, which accounted for 37 percent of deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2019. Projections indicate a 17 percent rise in NCD deaths over the next decade, with Africa expected to see a 27 percent increase by 2030, surpassing deaths from communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional diseases combined.Mr. Anaseba pointed out existing gaps in core health system functions, including financing, health information systems, human resources, and service delivery. He noted challenges such as inadequate staff numbers and skills, ineffective stakeholder collaboration, and weak surveillance systems.Professor Irene Agyepong, D irector for NIHR Global Health Research Centres West Africa, highlighted barriers to healthcare access, particularly in remote areas, due to poor road quality and transportation networks. She advocated for telemedicine in rural communities to facilitate communication between nurses and trained doctors, improving medical care access.Dr. Sylvia Anie, a member of the STOP-NCD Advisory Committee, stressed the importance of dialogue among national stakeholders to share findings on NCDs and discuss control, education, and screening interventions. She emphasized the global public health challenge posed by NCDs, accounting for 41 million deaths annually, and called for collective action to improve outcomes in NCD prevention, control, and treatment.