Former health minister kicks against privatization of public hospitals

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, a former minister of health has said that a proposal for the privatization of public hospitals is not the solution to the challenges confronting the health sector in the country.

“If there is a problem at hand, we can solve it but this proposal for the privatization of public hospitals, I don’t agree. In a broader policy, if public service on the government is too much and if there is a policy shift to allow for more private participation, we can explore that possibility and I will support it,” he said on Kasapa FM’s

Dr. Afriyie’s remarks came in the wake of a proposal by the Ghana Chamber of Pharmacy that Teaching and Regional Hospitals across the country should be privatised to among other things, improve efficiency in the delivery of health care services.

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A renowned United States-based Ghanaian lecturer and columnist, Dr Michael Jarvis Bokor, is also advocating for the privatization of public hospitals and training of doctors in Ghana.

“There is no need for the government to continue "managing" the so-called hospitals where these GMA members are employed. The government shouldn't continue to pay these doctors or put itself and Ghanaians at their mercy now that we know how the situation has been politicized by self-seeking members of such an association or any other,” Dr. Bokor said in a recent article.

But Dr. Afriyie opines that accepting the proposal will not be the end of the numerous strike actions.

“What if the private sector also embarks on a strike action in the near future, what are we going to do? In any country, what we call essential services like health and transport are not placed at a particular sector – public or private sector. Where you draw the balance is a matter of policy,” he noted.