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Ghana makes progress in TB case detection, treatment
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Ghana in 2024 achieved the highest Tuberculosis (TB) treatment success rate of 90.6 per cent of the 20,599 new cases detected.
The current treatment rate exceeded the national TB treatment target of 90 per cent for 2025. Similarly, deaths among patients on anti-TB treatment was 12, 200, representing 5.1 per cent of TB death rate, a reduction in the previous trend ranging from eight to 10 per cent.
Despite the success chalked in TB cases detection, 24,000 of the estimated 44, 000 cases were missed due to inadequate funding, Dr Yaw Adusi-Poku, the Programme Manager, National TB Control Programme, said at the commemoration of the 2025 World TB Day in Accra on Monday.
He said, last year, Ghana identified 900 children with tuberculosis infections in the brain, spine and other organs, out of a projected target of 16,000 children.
Dr Adusi-Poku said the country presently needed commodities for TB treatment and control for the year 2025 and 2026.
He called on stakeholders to invest more in the screening of adults and children to aid in early case detection and treatment.
More than 70 districts have no GeneXpert machines and for Paediatric TB, Dr Adusi-Poku said, adding that currently only 77 facilities had digital x-ray machines.
Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, called on all to take decisive actions to end TB.
He said the government was determined to increase funding for TB control activities, essential services and medical supplies.
“The government is committed to improving access to diagnostic tools like Gen Xpert and digital Xrays to ensure that no life is lost to TB,” the Minister said.
Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the Director General, Ghana Health Service (GHS), said Ghana had, over the years, lacked the will and resources to screen people and provide the needed treatment.
He said the fight against TB required a strong commitment from leaders at all levels, with adequate funding for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Prof. Akoriyea said the GHS would intensify the capacity of healthcare workers to be abreast of the latest TB treatment interventions.
The World TB Day is celebrated on March 24, each year, to raise public awareness on the deadliest infectious killer and its devastating health, social and economic impact on people around the world.
The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) urges countries to commit by ensuring rapid implementation of its guidance and policies, strengthen national strategies and full funding.
It called on leaders to invest in TB prevention with proper financing, stating that TB prevention success depends on community leadership, civil society action, and cross-sector collaboration.
The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has questioned who will bear the cost of conducting presidential and parliamentary primaries following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s delegate system.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Nimako Marfo said he would not immediately comment on the ruling, adding that he wanted to wait for the full details before sharing his views.
“I don’t want to comment on it now. Let’s wait,” he said.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision that all members in good standing should vote in party elections, he shifted attention to the financial implications of implementing the ruling.
According to him, allowing all members in good standing to vote would increase the cost of organising internal party elections.
He questioned who would pay for the expanded electoral process.
“Who is going to pay for the cost of the elections?” he asked.
When a journalist suggested that political parties would bear the cost, Mr. Nimako Marfo replied, “Let’s wait and see.”
The comments come after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties should allow all members in good standing to vote in their internal elections, a decision that is expected to expand participation but also increase the financial and logistical demands of organising presidential and parliamentary primaries.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision delivered, the Court ruled that the long-standing system violates democratic principles and ordered all political parties to ensure every registered, card-bearing member participates in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The ruling brings to an end decades of internal party elections conducted by a limited number of delegates.
The suit was filed by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; veteran politician Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe; and former Minister for Lands and Forestry, Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
The plaintiffs argued that the delegate system created inequality among party members by granting voting rights to a privileged minority while excluding ordinary members in good standing.
They told the Court that restricting voting rights to delegates was inconsistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
The Attorney-General’s Department supported the suit and urged the Court to adopt a “one member, one vote” approach.
In its submission, the State argued that political parties perform an important public function in Ghana’s democratic framework and that their internal electoral processes must reflect constitutional values of equality, participation and universal suffrage.
The Attorney-General further submitted that expanding voting rights to all registered members would strengthen accountability and deepen internal democracy within political parties.
The judgment means that going forward, presidential and parliamentary candidates will be selected by all registered members of a political party, instead of by delegates alone.
Political parties are expected to review their constitutions and structures to comply with the Court’s directive ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
