2020 Budget failed to address key health issues —Dr. Sandaare2020 Budget failed to address key health issues —Dr. Sandaare

Dr. Sebastian Ngmenenso Sandaare, a member of the Health Committee of Parliament has expressed his disappointment in the 2020 Budget Statement and Economic policy of the government present to parliament.

According to him, he was taken backed, the government presented a budget without clear cut policies to address the yawning problems facing the health sector.

Dr Sandaare who is the Member of Parliament for Daffiama/Bussie/Issa, was reacting to the 2020 Budget Statement and economic policies presented to parliament on Wednesday, November 13, 2019.

The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, who presented the budget said, the government is working to enhance services of the health sector and that customers on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) could now access renewal and similar services on their mobile phones.

But the DBI lawmaker told THE REPUBLIC, he felt disappointed and that government has failed woefully to address critical issues in the health sector.

He noted that, although the budget was ambitious with repetition of the 2017,2018 and 2019 budgets, it again failed to address certain key issues including the abandoned hospital projects, the “No Bed” syndrome and other teething problems that are affecting quality delivery of healthcare in the country.

These, among other issues, the Minority MP said were not properly explained and captured in the 2020 budget statement presented by the Finance Minister, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta.

Explaining what he perceived as challenges with the budget for the health sector, Dr. Sandaare said the Finance Minister did not outline any new initiatives to deal with the funding gap and other related challenges facing the NHIS.

“Challenges with health financing have persisted for years as according to the Minister of Finance. We were, therefore, expecting to hear some of the measures being put in place to address them but nothing was said about it,” he said.

He said the budget is empty and could be best described as ” campaign budget” because the government is thinking of the next election and not the health needs of the citizens.

Source: therepublicnewsonline.com/Felix Nyaaba