Officials host universal health care workshop in Ghana

To help educate government officials on best practices for implementing universal health care in Africa, a five-day workshop kicked off Monday in Accra, Ghana.

Dubbed the Africa Regional Peer-Learning Workshop on Country Approaches to Risk-Pooling for Attaining Universal Health Coverage, the event, organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ghana Ministry of Health, National Health Insurance Authority and World Health Organization (WHO),   is bringing together representatives from the African nations of Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Uganda.

A variety of speakers for the event include U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Robert P. Jackson, USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health Ariel Pablos-Mendez, Ghana's Minister of Health Alex Segbefia as well as health care experts from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and the World Health Organization.

About 40 percent of Ghana's population is covered by Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme, which is considered a model the rest of West Africa should emulate.

“Change is possible when we partner together and learn from each other," Jackson said. "The U.S. government, through USAID, collaborates closely with the National Health Insurance Agency to support its financial sustainability, increase enrollment, and improve effective coverage of quality health services."