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NHIA boss joins Ghana delegation at AU health summit
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The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Victor Asare Bampoe, has joined Ghana’s delegation at the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra to discuss ways of improving healthcare across the continent.
The two-day summit, which opened on Tuesday, July 21, brought together African leaders, health ministers, policymakers, development partners and public health experts to discuss ending AIDS by 2030, reducing preventable maternal deaths, tackling communicable and non-communicable diseases, and strengthening health systems in Africa.
The meeting is being hosted by the Government of Ghana under the theme: “Addressing Preventable Maternal Deaths, Ending AIDS by 2030, Addressing Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Endemic to the Continent, and Strengthening Health Systems by 2030.”
Dr Bampoe’s participation highlights the NHIA’s commitment to supporting Universal Health Coverage through sustainable health financing and ensuring that all Ghanaians have access to quality healthcare.
According to the organisers, the summit is providing African leaders with an opportunity to review progress made under previous health commitments, identify challenges affecting healthcare delivery and adopt new strategies to help countries achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Ghana’s delegation reaffirmed the country’s commitment to strengthening primary healthcare, improving maternal and child health, expanding access to essential health services and building resilient health systems capable of responding to future public health emergencies.
As part of the summit, Dr Bampoe is expected to grant interviews to international media to highlight Ghana’s progress in expanding access to healthcare through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He is also expected to outline ongoing reforms aimed at improving the scheme’s financial sustainability, strengthening primary healthcare, promoting digital innovation and accelerating the country’s drive towards Universal Health Coverage.
Welcoming delegates on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, the Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said Ghana was hosting the summit not only as a venue but also as “a committed partner in Africa’s collective pursuit of a healthier, more dignified and self-reliant continent.”
He acknowledged that although Africa had made significant progress in reducing communicable diseases, including HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, maternal mortality, inadequate healthcare financing and dependence on imported medicines continued to threaten the continent’s health security.
Mr Akandoh called on African countries to move beyond declarations and focus on implementation by increasing domestic health financing, expanding local production of medicines, vaccines and health technologies, and making primary healthcare the foundation of their health systems.
He said Ghana had already taken steps in that direction through reforms such as the uncapping of the National Health Insurance Levy, the rollout of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme, the Ghana Medical Trust Fund and efforts to strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing.
“A continent that finances its own health secures its own future. It cannot remain hostage to changing priorities beyond its shores,” the minister stated.
By:Jacob Aggrey
Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, Mustapha Gbande, has alleged that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) appears more concerned and emotionally invested in the imprisonment of its Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, than the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking on Joy Prime on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in Accra, Mr. Gbande argued that the NPP played a major role in the legal process that led to Wontumi’s conviction.
According to him, the law under which Wontumi was convicted originally carried a maximum prison sentence of three years but was later amended by the NPP administration to increase the maximum punishment to 15 years.
“The law that jailed Wontumi was three years. The NPP enhanced it to 15 years,” he stated.
Mr. Gbande further claimed that the evidence used to prosecute Wontumi was gathered during the previous NPP administration.
He maintained that the case against the NPP chairman did not begin under the current government but was built by officials who served in the former administration.
“The docket that jailed Wontumi was built by the NPP. The evidence that convicted him was built by the NPP,” he asserted.
To support his argument, Mr. Gbande referred to actions taken by the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in July 2022, when the minister declared activities linked to Wontumi in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve illegal.
He stressed that once an activity has been declared illegal, it remains a breach of the law regardless of who is involved.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has warned that traders, transport operators, businesses and individuals who refuse to accept Ghana cedi coins as payment for goods and services could face arrest, prosecution, fines or imprisonment.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, the central bank expressed concern over the widespread refusal to accept 1 pesewa, 5 pesewa, 10 pesewa, 20 pesewa and 50 pesewa coins, as well as the GH¢1 and GH¢2 coins.
It explained that all coins issued by the Bank of Ghana remain legal tender and must be accepted for transactions across the country.
According to the BoG, none of the coins has been withdrawn from circulation or demonetised, and no trader, transport operator, business or individual has the right to reject them because they consider them inconvenient or of low value.
The bank cited the Bank of Ghana Act, 2002 (Act 612), as amended, and the Currency Act, 1964 (Act 242), as the laws governing the use of the country’s currency.
It noted that under the Currency Act, refusing to sell goods or provide services simply because a customer is paying with legal tender coins or banknotes is a criminal offence, unless the currency has been withdrawn from circulation.
The BoG stated that anyone convicted of the offence could face up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
It added that people who encourage or instruct others to reject coins, including business owners who direct their employees to do so, are equally liable under the law.
The bank further indicated that a person caught committing the offence may be arrested without a warrant.
To ensure compliance, the BoG said it would work with the Ghana Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to enforce the law against offenders.
It encouraged members of the public to report cases of coin rejection to the nearest Bank of Ghana office, the Ghana Police Service or through the bank’s official communication channels.
The central bank called on individuals, businesses and institutions to accept and handle Ghana’s currency responsibly in all its denominations, saying this would help uphold confidence in the country’s legal tender.
By: Jacob Aggrey
