Alhaji Hafiz Adam, Chief Director of the Ministry of Health has commended the Coalition of NGOs in Health for the consistent roles they played in the passage of the Excise Duty Amendment Act, 2023 (Act 1093). “Your numerous advocacy roles in 2023, notably among them is your consistent advocacy role that led to the passing of the Excise Duty Amendment Act, 2023 (Act 1093) which imposes a 20 per cent tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in Ghana. “This is a great milestone that will help us in our fight against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Ghana.
“I must say that the work is not yet done and that we will need you to advocate the allocation of a percentage of the tax collectibles to the health sector to support our combat against NCDs which has become a menace to public health,” he stated. Alhaji Adam made the commendation when he addressed the 2024 Health Summit in Accra. He said Universal Health Coverage (UHC) was a priority of health systems worldwide and central to Sustainable Development Goal ‘3’ (target 3,8).
“Critical to the achievement of UHC is quality of care. However, a joint report by the Organisation for facilities or practice, or providers who lack adequate training and expertise Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the WHO, and the World Bank has suggested that inferior quality health services are holding back progress on improving health in countries at all income levels. “Today, inaccurate diagnosis, medication errors, inappropriate t.