Ghana Health Service Calls for Disability Inclusion in Free Primary Healthcare Delivery
Ghana Health Service (GHS) has called for greater attention to disability inclusion and health equity in the delivery of free primary healthcare.
The Deputy Director-General of the GHS, Dr Caroline Reindorf Amissah, made the call while speaking on behalf of the Director-General at the opening of the 2026 Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Evidence Summit in Accra.
She said the success of free primary healthcare would depend on ensuring that persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are fully included in the health system.
Dr Amissah urged stakeholders to use credible evidence, research and reliable data to guide health programmes and interventions, noting that social and behaviour change remains an important part of primary healthcare delivery.
She explained that access to health services alone would not guarantee improved health outcomes, but instead “people’s understanding, trust and willingness to use available services were equally important.”
The Director of the Health Promotion Division, Mrs Mabel Kissiwaa Asafo, said the summit provides a platform to connect research with practice by bringing together experts who generate evidence and those who implement health programmes.
She said the discussions would support efforts towards achieving Universal Health Coverage in Ghana.
The Chairperson for the opening session and former Director of Public Health, Dr George Amofa, called on participants to actively engage in discussions and provide feedback to improve research and health interventions.
The SBC Team Lead at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Priscilla Mazinga Kusena, commended the GHS for organising the summit and urged participants to ensure that evidence generated through research translates into measurable improvements in health and wellbeing.
The summit features exhibitions, presentations, side meetings and discussions on research evidence, social and behaviour change interventions and strategies to strengthen free primary healthcare delivery.
The two-day summit, organised by the Health Promotion Division of the GHS, is being held under the theme, “Strengthening Free Primary Healthcare in Ghana through Evidence-Based Social and Behaviour Change for Sustainable Health and Wellbeing.”
Priscilla Osei-Wusu Nimako, ISD
