The Deputy Minister of Health, Hon Tina Gifty Mensah, launched the Public Health Workforce Strategic Plan themed “Building a resilient public health workforce for one health in Ghana” to better respond to emerging threats to public health.
The Public Health Workforce Strategic Plan will provide immediate access and higher quality health services through the equitable development and retention of a skilled workforce in Ghana’s human, animal and environmental health.
Hon. Tina Mensah in her speech said the Ministry collaborated with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Innovation and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to develop this document to guide the country in its health workforce needs. He said the Public Health Workforce Strategic Plan is a five-year document that presents a road map that will guide the human resource restructuring of the public health workforce and ensure that the goal of Universal Health Coverage is fully achieved, using the One Health concept until 2030.
“The document will support addressing some of the weaknesses in the health workforce, particularly in recruitment, workforce allocation, staff development and employee motivation and employee migration,” he added.
Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye, Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in his statement commended the timeliness of the Strategic Plan as there was no document to guide inter-sectoral collaboration.
“Practically, Covid-19 made us implement the Public Health Strategic Plan even before launch and I believe that this document will guide cross-sectoral collaboration and since we are doing it unknowingly because of Covid, we should not wait public health emergency before we consider bringing in other health sectors that have a stake in addressing public health issues,” he added