The World Bank today approved $300 million in IDA support for the Public Financial Management (PFM) for Service Delivery Program ($150 million) and the Primary Health Care Investment Program ($150 million) to help Ghana improve public resource mobilization and accountability for better service delivery and primary health care quality and equity.
The Global Financing Facility (GFF) has contributed $31 million to the Primary Health Care Investment Program, including $16 million to restore and safeguard key health services in the face of various crises, notably COVID-19.
Read Also: IGP heads to Kumasi over Islamic SHS incident as police launches probe
“The two programs support important government priorities in improving service delivery and accountability and are even more relevant as Ghana begins recovering from the COVID-19 context,” said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Ghana Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
“Supporting the Government of Ghana to raise additional budgetary resources, control spending, and ensure that spending efficiency is maximized for health and education services, as well as other sectors, will be an invaluable for investment in the human capital of Ghana’s population.”
The Basic Health Care Investment initiative will help the Ghanaian government boost primary health care at the sub-district level while also enhancing access and quality of key health services. In close collaboration with the PFM Program, the Health Program will also assist the networking of primary health care services and reinforce critical management and financing systems. It will support enhancements to the National Health Insurance Scheme’s coverage, especially for poor and vulnerable groups, as well as its financing of primary health care services.
“The Program will benefit users of health services at the community level and by Health Centers as it enhances quality and access to key services, including maternal health care, child immunization, and management of chronic diseases,” said Patrick Mullen, Human Development Program Lead, and Task Team Leader of the Primary Health Care Investment Program.
“The Global Financing Facility (GFF) is proud to support the Government of Ghana’s leadership and commitment to strengthening health systems while ensuring access to essential health services, especially for women and children in the most vulnerable communities,” said Monique Vledder, Head of Secretariat, GFF.
“By enhancing the quality of primary care services in communities and promoting sustainable financing, Ghana can drive a more equitable and resilient recovery.”
The PFM for Service Delivery Program will assist the government in boosting public resource mobilization, creating more budgetary space and allocating more resources to public investment, and mitigating Ghana’s debt crisis.
It will also help the government’s program to improve resource allocation in accordance with government goals by managing subsidies and transfers to state-owned firms with the goal of enhancing their performance, transparency, disclosure, and accountability through effective monitoring. Better service delivery will be enabled through improved budget execution and accountability. The Program will contribute to better budget execution by ensuring that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as other institutions delivering public services, receive their assigned money on schedule, allowing them to function smoothly and enhance service delivery.
“The Program beneficiaries include both public sector institutions as well as the general public, including taxpayers and recipients of public services” said Furqan Ahmad Saleem, World Bank Lead Public Specialist and Task Team Leader for the Program. “The Program builds on the successes and lessons learned from the World Bank’s past PFM operations and engagements and leverages ongoing engagements by other development partners”
The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), founded in 1960, assists the world’s poorest nations by giving grants and low- or no-interest loans for projects and programs that promote economic growth, alleviate poverty, and enhance the lives of the poor. IDA is one of the world’s major donors to the world’s 76 poorest nations, 39 of which are in Africa. The 1.6 billion individuals who live in IDA nations benefit from IDA resources. IDA has funded development initiatives in 113 countries since 1960. Over the previous three years, annual pledges have averaged over $21 billion, with roughly 61 percent going to Africa.
SOURCE: CITINEWS
