Ghana’s NCD Policy is ready for Cabinet – Health Minister

Minister for Health Kwaku Agyeman-Manu has disclosed that his Ministry has completed a review of Ghana’s Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Policy. He said the document will soon be presented to the Cabinet for approval.

He said as part of plans towards the official launch and implementation of the document he has tasked the various directors of the Ministry to find ways of forging partnerships with organisations to achieve its goals.

The Minister said this on Friday when the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency, Tom Nørring, paid a courtesy call on in his office in Accra.

Their discussions centred on health sector partnerships between Ghana and Denmark, and opportunities in the Ghanaian health sector to expand cooperation.

H.E. Tom Nørring expressed his gratitude to the Health Minister for the warm reception accorded him and his delegation, which included officials from the Royal Danish Embassy and a team from Novo-Nordisk Pharma.

He described the Ghanaian environment as a good place during this “new normal” the world is experiencing in this Covid-19 period, and commended the government for effectively handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Danish Envoy, his country has recently contributed about $5 million to assist the government of Ghana in its recovery plans.

“More precisely in terms of supporting the government’s efforts in securing health and sanitation by improving access to clean water in most densely populated areas in Accra and Kumasi,” he said.

He described his his visit to the Minister as a follow up to the previous engagements between Novo-Nordisk Pharma and the government of Ghana.

He also praised Novo-Nordisk Pharma as among few companies worldwide with the desire to help people and to fight illnesses, especially diabetes.

This, according to Ambassador Nørring, is evident through the company’s strong focus on the education of patients, training for healthcare professionals, and training facilities for early diagnostics.

Welcoming Ambassador Nørring and his delegation, Hon Agyeman-Manu said, despite the interruption of the Ministry’s traditional activities by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, it managed to keep some programmes running. The Base of the Pyramid project, by Novo-Nordisk, is one of the projects that was not disturbed in the advent of Covid-19.

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He said the Novo Nordisk programme of expansion of diabetes support centres will be part of the type of programmes the Ministry will embark on this year. The Health Minister thanked the Danish Embassy and Novo Nordisk for their assistance to the country and assured them of the Ministry’s willingness to facilitate the programme.

Mr Samuel Kofi Tovor, Access to Care Manager English West Africa, said Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with headquarters in Denmark and manufacture mainly insulin for the treatment of diabetes.

He said the company supported the government to establish diabetes support centres, which has enabled patients to have easy access to health care and has also reduced the waiting time at the hospital.

Late last year, with the alarming Covid-19 situation worldwide, Mr Tovor said, Novo Nordisk planned a global support programme since diabetes was known to be one of the underlining conditions that caused fatalities. It, therefore, launched a global campaign called “Defeat Diabetes Campaign” and in Ghana, it was targeted at children with type 1 diabetes and the aged.

By Jeorge Wilson Kingson with additional files from MoH