BY DANIEL BAMPOE
The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, has sounded the alarm over what he describes as inadequate government spending on the health sector, warning that continued underfunding could weaken healthcare delivery, worsen disease outcomes and ultimately undermine the country’s development agenda.
Commenting on the NDC government’s budget implementation, Dr. Agyemang argued that investment in healthcare should not be treated as an optional expenditure but as a national priority, insisting that no country can achieve sustainable development without a healthy population.
According to the lawmaker, the quality of a nation’s human resource is its greatest asset, and any failure to adequately finance the health sector directly threatens national productivity and economic growth.
“The implication of not spending in the health sector is that we cannot have quality healthcare. When you don’t have healthcare, you don’t have a nation because people drive value. You cannot underestimate the quality of your people. The best standard for every country is to maintain a healthy population,” he stated.
Dr. Agyemang expressed concern over what he described as the declining visibility of public health promotion campaigns, particularly on HIV/AIDS awareness, arguing that reduced government investment in preventive healthcare has contributed to increasing infection rates.
He noted that public education campaigns, which were once a regular feature across television and radio stations, have significantly diminished, leaving many Ghanaians without consistent health information and awareness programmes.
“You remember HIV cases have increased. It is all because access to condoms and the promotion of HIV awareness have become a problem. After all, the government is not spending. When was the last time you saw a government-sponsored health promotion advertisement on television?” he questioned.
The Abuakwa South MP also drew attention to the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, including cancers, diabetes and hypertension, describing them as major causes of death in Ghana that require sustained investment in prevention, early diagnosis and treatment.
According to him, inadequate funding for public health interventions is making it increasingly difficult to tackle these diseases effectively, resulting in avoidable deaths across the country.
Dr. Kingsley Agyemang further criticised what he described as the slow pace of budget execution within the health sector, arguing that while government has largely kept up with compensation payments for health workers, several critical healthcare programmes remain significantly underfunded.
He pointed specifically to the Nursing Training Allowance, stating that only about 30 per cent of the allocated funds had reportedly been utilised, raising serious concerns about the government’s ability to honour payments to trainee nurses before the end of the financial year.
“The only budget line that appears to be up to date is compensation because workers have to be paid. But when it comes to the Nursing Training Allowance, only about 30 per cent has been utilised. If you are a nursing trainee watching me, it is straightforward that your allowances may not be paid because it will be difficult to complete the payments before the end of the year,” he asserted.
The legislator also questioned the pace of funding releases to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), claiming that approximately 30 per cent of the budget had been utilised despite the government’s earlier decision to uncap the National Health Insurance Fund.
He argued that removing the cap alone would not improve healthcare delivery unless the Ministry of Finance released the approved funds for hospitals, clinics and healthcare programmes.
“There was no point in uncapping the National Health Insurance Fund if the money is not released. A budget allocation on paper is meaningless unless the Finance Minister actually releases the funds for healthcare delivery,” he stressed.
Dr. Kingsley Agyemang therefore appealed to the Finance Minister to prioritise the release of resources to the health sector, warning that delays in funding could have far-reaching consequences for healthcare delivery across the country.
“The Finance Minister must find a way to release money for healthcare. We cannot say anything beyond that because nobody knows when they may require medical attention. Health cannot wait,” he emphasised.
The comments come at a time when the health sector continues to face challenges ranging from financing constraints and rising disease burdens to concerns over the sustainability of healthcare programmes and the timely payment of statutory obligations.
He warned that without sustained funding, critical health programmes, disease prevention campaigns and support for frontline health workers could suffer, with long-term consequences for the wellbeing and productivity of the Ghanaian population.
