A Multi-Stakeholder academic symposium has issued a position statement calling on the government and development partners to take urgent, coordinated and sustained action to secure sustainable domestic financing for primary health care and immunisation.
The symposium, themed “Advancing Sustainable Financing for Primary Health Care in Ghana: From Academic Research to Policy Making,” was convened in June in Ho, Volta Region, by the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in partnership with Hope for Future Generations and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator and the position statement was adopted in September 2026.
It brought together leadership and faculty of UHAS and representatives from the University of Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the University for Development Studies (UDS), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) country office in Ghana.
In its assessment, the symposium observed that Ghana's health budget had averaged between six per cent and 11 per cent of the national budget over the years, falling short of the Abuja Declaration target of 15 per cent.
It said this funding gap had led to reforms including the introduction of the Free Primary Healthcare (FPHC) policy and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, while the uncapping of the NHIS, rising medical loss ratios and domestic vaccine manufacturing through the National Vaccine Institute boost prospects for universal health coverage.
Domestic resource
The statement was signed on behalf of UHAS and participating academics by Vice-Chancellor Professor Lydia Aziato and on behalf of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator by Country Coordinator Stephen Atasige
The statement noted that Ghana's immunisation programme, which was mainly financed by Gavi and partners, was expected to transition to full self-financing by January 2030 during Gavi's Accelerated Transition Phase, putting increasing pressure on the country to enhance domestic resource mobilisation and prioritise fiscal spending for health commodities and immunisation.
The academics recognised primary health care as Ghana's health system foundation and key to achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and said the symposium focused on health financing, immunisation economics, resource mobilisation and strategies for primary health care to turn evidence into actionable recommendations.
Recommendations
Mr Atasige, who read the communique at a press conference on Wednesday in Accra, first, called on the government to explicitly and visibly embed immunisation financing within the Free Primary Healthcare framework without further delay, rather than deferring action until the 2030 Gavi transition deadline.
Second, they called for the establishment of clearly visible, distinct budget lines for vaccine and commodity procurement and for immunisation programme operational costs within the Ministry of Health budget to enable parliamentary oversight.
Third, they further called for the earmarking of a defined share of excise-tax revenue on tobacco and alcohol as well as extractive industry such as mining and petroleum royalties for primary health care and immunisation financing, building on the demonstrated revenue gains of the 2023 Excise Duty Amendment Act.
Fourth, they called on the government to extend National Health Insurance Scheme premium contributions to a uniform salary-based model covering all formal-sector earners to support Primary Healthcare financing.
Fifth, it should explore an airline-ticket solidarity levy, vaccine and health bonds, and social or development-impact bonds as complementary domestic-financing instruments for primary health care and immunisation.
Lastly, they urged the government to ensure implementation of a sustainability-focused Gavi transition road map by 2030 to fully finance the complete immunisation system, accelerate local manufacturing and regional procurement through the National Vaccine Institute, and incorporate evidence-based lessons from past African and global transitions.
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