Dr Andrew Ayim, Deputy Director of Policy, Ghana Health Service (GHS), says the formation and support for Primary Care Provider networks will enhance access to equitable and high quality Primary Health Care (PHC) services.

He said the networks was an innovative approach to catalyze sub-district level providers to deliver a more comprehensive package of essential services in the health system and maximize efficiency in the use of resources.

Dr Ayim said this on Thursday in Accra at a stakeholder engagement on the "State of Primary Health Care in Ghana".

The event was organized by SEND Ghana, with funding from the Champions of Global Reproductive Rights.

The USAID's Systems for Health in partnership with the GHS and the National Health Insurance Authority in September 2017 launched a pilot project dubbed "Preferred Primary Care Provider" network in the Volta Region.

The project is to enable lower level health facilities improve delivery by networking them into bigger primary health organizations aimed at promoting quality and equitable PHC at all levels of the health system.

South Tongu and South Dayi districts were short-listed for the 18-month project which started from January 2018 to September 2018, coordinated by a Technical Working Group to provide leadership and technical support.

A total of 12 Health Centres and 19 Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) compounds comprising of 193 health workers were selected to be part of the project.

Due to the success of the pilot project, four districts in Volta region are currently implementing the provider networks.

He said the GHS had rolled out a strategic implementation plan for the PHC, including the development and implementation of effective PHC workforce, building information systems and intelligence and improved PHC financing and investment.

Dr Ayim said Ghana had three levels of PHC which include the district, sub- district and community level.

The district level work with the local government and other services responsible for planning, monitoring and coordination and provision of clinical and surgical services.

The sub-district is at the health centre level for operational implementation while the community level is designed for health workers to jointly work with community members to keep them well and healthy.

He said government was working to address challenges in the PHC system including poor road networks, low vehicles for operational duties and high level of poverty.

Dr Barnabas Yeboah, Head of Nursing and Midwifery at MOH, said the Ministry had rolled out a national quality strategy to provide quality health care for the citizenry, stressing that over 95 per cent of diseases were covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He said the Ministry had made strides in ensuring universal health coverage with the introduction of Community-based Health Planning Services as well as invested a lot in PHC with the support from its development partners.

Dr Emmanuel Ayifah, the Deputy Country Director, SEND Ghana, said the engagement was to share ideas and suggest to government to improve on the country's PHC delivery to achieve universal health care coverage.

This, he explained, was necessary to build a strong nation, adding that UHC cannot be achieved without effective PHC.