The Ghana NCD Alliance (GhNCDA) has advocated for the establishment of comprehensive health facilities nationwide to improve accessibility and address the urgent needs of individuals living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
In recent years, NCDs have become a major public health concern in Ghana, contributing to 45% of all deaths in the country.
Speaking to journalists, the National Coordinator of GhNCDA, Labram Musah, emphasized that this rising burden underscores the growing impact of NCDs, exacerbated by ongoing systemic challenges in the healthcare sector.
“We are calling for integrated care and a one-stop shop facility where when the person goes to the hospital, it shouldn’t be from one hospital to the other. When I come here in this facility, I should be able to get all the care and support I need,” he said.
He urged the government to reconsider its decision to abolish the betting tax, citing its connection to the rising cases of mental health illnesses—an often-overlooked form of non-communicable disease (NCD).
“The SONA did not mention the issue of preventive care like tobacco, alcohol, how do we make sure that we are reducing the intake of this product.
“So we made recommendations that we should put taxes on them because if you scrap the betting tax, and then the Food and Beverages leaders are also looking at the fact that government should scrap their tax, and the government heed to that, then we will still be having elevated problems,” he said.
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