Deputy Minister for Health Hon. Grace Ayensu Danquah has called for stronger domestic financing and closer collaboration to sustain Ghana’s progress against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), as the country pushes to eliminate them by 2030.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting in Accra, the Deputy Minister warned that NTDs continue to impose a heavy health and socioeconomic burden, particularly on vulnerable communities, and that the gains Ghana has made in eliminating some of the diseases could be lost without increased local investment.
She stressed that government institutions, development partners and the private sector must work more closely together, in line with the World Health Organization’s 2030 NTD Roadmap, to close the remaining gaps.
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The Deputy Minister urged stakeholders to make clear, practical and time-bound commitments, and called on private-sector actors to back NTD programmes through funding, technology, logistics, research and health-system strengthening. Such investment, she noted, would help protect human capital, improve productivity and advance national development.
Her remarks set the tone for the meeting, which brought together key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and secure concrete commitments towards an NTD-free Ghana by 2030.
Other speakers reinforced her call for coordinated action. Dr Hafez Adam Taher, Chairman of the Inter-Country Coordinating Committee (ICCC) for NTDs and Technical Coordinating Director for the Ministry of Health, urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies to integrate NTD interventions into existing programmes, including nutrition, social protection, education, and water and sanitation. He said such coordination was essential to protect vulnerable communities and maintain Ghana’s progress.
Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, National Ambassador for NTDs, also urged Ghana to take greater ownership of the elimination agenda through domestic financing, improved coordination and effective data sharing. She said NTDs must be treated as a development challenge rather than neglected diseases, and appealed to government and the private sector to make sustained contributions to the fight.
