Health & Education

Ghana’s economic development is leading to heightened demand for specialised private health services, while on the public side; the government has made commitments to improve universal health coverage and is implementing plans to tackle specific challenges such as non-communicable diseases and a shortage of health professionals. Such commitments to legal reform and public resource provision will help spur further investment; however, challenges remain, including weaknesses in the National Health Insurance Scheme and high pharmaceutical and health care costs, all of which tend to have the greatest impact on low-income citizens. As for the education sector, the government has prioritised educational reform in recent years in a bid to improve access at all levels of the system. To this end, in 2018 the state introduced its Free Senior High School policy, an initiative which provides free tuition for attendees at all public secondary schools. On top of this, to improve learning outcomes and help fulfil demand in the job market for certain skills, the authorities have also encouraged greater investment in education infrastructure and strengthened technical and vocational education and training. This chapter contains an interview with Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Minister of Health.