Ghana has successfully completed the pre-and post-data collection activities for the World Health Organisation (WHO) Harmonised Health Facility Assessment (HHFA), including survey planning and preparation, data collection, data cleaning, analysis, and interpretation workshops with programmes. Additionally, some regional-specific interpretation workshops have been organised for a more in-depth regional analysis of the HHFA results. At the national launch of the document, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), described the HHFA as a comprehensive, standardised health facility survey that provided reliable objective information, on the availability of health services and the capacities of facilities that delivered them at the required standards of quality. He said the HHFA provided an approach for conducting a comprehensive assessment of health service availability, readiness and quality of the services provided. It builds upon the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) and incorporated components of other key global health facility surveys and indicators. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the goal, was to generate comprehensive facility-based information on the availability, readiness, and quality of health services, and to specifically assess the status of health facilities in terms of human resources, infrastructure, and capacity to provide services. It measured the type, quantity and quality of health services provided to the population and provided data for monitoring and evaluating changes in health service readiness and availability. The HHFA also provided external validation for self-reported information on service delivery, quality of care and system functioning through the routine structure, generating evidence to feed into Ghana's annual planning, to guide resource allocation. The Director-General (DG), said Ghana's adoption of the WHO-HHFA tool had ushered in a new era for standardised and comprehensive evaluation of health service availability, readiness, and quality, 'equipped us with the most reliable and intensive data on the capacity of our health care facilities to provide services at the required standards and quality.' 'Such data is instrumental for shaping evidenced-based decision-making and supporting health sector reviews, planning policymaking for strengthening Ghana's healthcare services delivery systems,' he said. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the assessment spanned all essential facility services and management systems structured within modules, comprising: Service delivery, availability, readiness, Quality of care and management and Finance. It encompassed an array of (1,421) health facilities nationwide including government-owned and privately managed ones. He commended partners especially the WHO, for supporting the seamless process, saying, 'As expected, the findings of the assessment would serve as the foundational data for costing health investment outlined in Ghana's Universal Health Coverage (UHC) roadmap 2030.' The DG said the GHS would work towards addressing the identified gaps, urging District Directors to do further analysis of the survey data, and taking decisions based on the findings. Dr Kuma-Aboagye said the tool was currently being used as the baseline for the NoP and other interventions being undertaken by the GHS, the World Bank, checking resilience and sustainable systems, and for the District Health Functionality Assessment, to support them track and self-evaluate key health outcomes. Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, in a Speech read on his behalf, acknowledged the importance of the assessment in providing invaluable insights into the state of Ghana's health facilities and identifying areas for urgent improvement. He said although Ghana had made significant strides in recent years, there remained much work to be done, to ensure wider access to high-quality healthcare without facing financial hardships. The Health Minister called for multisectoral stakeholder collaboration to wholeheartedly address the identified health system gaps key for achieving the UHC, promote best practices, endorse data-driven decision-making, and adhere to global standards. Prof. Francis Chisaka Kasolo, the WHO Country Representative, said the Organisation recognised the need for continuous health sector monitoring to track progress towards achieving the UHC and health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed that Ministries of Health across the Region, needed to regularly update such information, therefore the WHO and its development partners were delighted at Ghana's HHFA, after several years. He pledged the support of WHO and development partners in the implementation of the results and the generation of other knowledge products, to help improve its uptake and usage at all levels. He said the assessment provided a unique opportunity to translate and analyse data respectively, from the HHFA, Demographic and Health Survey and National Population and Housing Census, into the District Health Management and Information Systems II. He urged Ministry of Health (MOH) and its agencies, development partners and private health facilities, to utilise the HHFA results to improve Ghana's health outcomes. Dr Cornelius Debpuur, Ghana's Survey Lead, gave an overview of the qualitative study which started in August 2022, spearheaded by the MOH, saying it covered all the 16 regions with nearly 1,500 health facilities However, challenges encountered included getting the full complement of staff and patients, due to their busy schedules during the last quarter of the year, and unreliable transportation for data collectors. Dr Anthony Adofo Ofosu, the Deputy Director, General, GHS, presented the snapshots of the results, grouped under six categorise: Non-Communicable Diseases; Malaria, HIV, TB and NTDs; Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent health; Surgery, emergency, palliative, and Rehabilitation care; Management and Governance; Overall general service availability and readiness.

Source: Ghana News Agency