NPP Outlines Health Policy Direction

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Tuesday outlined the party�s health policy direction and asked for the electorates� mandate to execute it. The party�s policy focuses on reviving and restoring confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to achieve universal coverage for all Ghanaians; invest heavily on public-health education and primary healthcare and expand health facilities and increase the training of health workers. �Our priority is to train our medical professionals locally. Recently, a scheme, operated by then Vice President John Dramani Mahama, sent 250 people to Cuba to be trained as doctors and para-medics, at a cost of GH�106,000 each. �We could have trained them at GH�30,000 each, according to the Ghana Medical Association. We will rather invest in our medical schools to train a lot more doctors here in Ghana,� Nana Akufo-Addo stated at the Institute of Economics Affairs� platform dubbed: �Evening Encounter with Presidential Candidates,� in Accra. The NPP Flag bearer spotting black suit with navy blue shirt without a tie was accompanied to the Kofi Annan International ICT Centre venue for the encounter by a large contingent of NPP leading members, including Dr Mahamudu Bawumia his running mate, some national and regional executives and some Members of Parliament. Nana Akufo-Addo lamented: �It has been painful to watch the ruling National Democratic Congress tries its best to collapse the NHIS, whilst struggling to implement their unrealistic one-time premium promise. �Today, the fear of getting sick is back. The NHIS has been degraded and cash and carry is back. The last NPP government introduced the NHIS to remove the constant fear of falling ill under the inhumane cash and carry system�. On infrastructure, the NPP Flagbearer said a NPP Government under his leadership would spend an average sum of GH�14 billion a year to accelerate development. �We will do this by managing government resources and projects efficiently and attracting substantial capital from the private sector � in public-private partnership initiatives. �Our infrastructure programme includes the development of roads, water supplies, sanitation, railways, ports, airports, and our plan to triple the irrigation of arable land and to complete a nationwide fibre optic backbone to facilitate effective and efficient ICT access. �Critical to all this will be a dramatic expansion and supply of reliable power to support the transformation agenda�. On housing, Nana Akufo-Addo said NPP Government would resolve the appalling accommodation situation where over 50 per cent of Ghanaians live in sub-standard houses, deprived inner city dwellings, uncompleted houses, containers, kiosks, pavements and other unsuitable structures and the majority of tenants faced the payment of huge advance rents especially in our cities. �I will commit my government to complete the affordable housing project that was started by the previous NPP government and abandoned by the NDC. With the private sector, we will build more decent, affordable homes for working Ghanaians. They would range from hostels and bedsits to flats and houses. �This has been a summary of a few of the essential things that NPP government, under my leadership, will do to improve people�s lives. Be assured that we will stabilize the sinking cedi, bring back business confidence and make investing in Ghana attractive to both local and foreign investors. �We have spent time getting our plans right. Doubtless that must account for how the original theme of our manifesto, �PEOPLE MATTER, YOU MATTER�, was pinched by our opponents�. But I take the view that imitation is the greatest form of flattery and we wish them well�.