The Ministry of Health has engaged stakeholders to validate the national health security policy.
The engagement emanates from key recommendations made in 2020 for the formulation of a national health security policy to address all-hazards health security threats, the phenomenon of globalization brought about by expanding cities, extending trade territories and increasing travel.
At the meeting last Friday, the Minister for Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said Ghana was confronted with five major public health security threats: infectious disease outbreaks, natural and man-made disasters, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), road traffic accidents, and mental health.
He noted, therefore, that the government has the primary responsibility for protecting Ghanaians from those negative public health concerns.
Based on these, the Ministry with the support of its development partners has designed and adopted a policy for national health security.
Mr Agyeman-Manu added that effects on ecosystems due to increased human population, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases leading to high mortality rates and the emergence and spread of infectious diseases leading to high mortality rates are factors that cannot be overlooked.
He said the policy has four primary objectives which aim to increase alignment, complementarity and synergies among all actors, both public and private, in achieving population health security.
The Minister stated the policy is expected to pave the way for the formation of an appropriate legislative framework, allowing the government to properly preserve people’s health and establish the Ghana Centre for Disease Control.
He implored stakeholders to work effectively together to achieve the policy’s goal.