Mr Mahama Asei Seini, the Deputy Minister of Health, said "JICA's support to the health sector is significant and impactful. Ghana's successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic was not without Japan's contribution.

He said despite the role played by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), the Japanese government further supported the country with COVID-19 response items and infrastructure for the vaccination campaign.

Mr Seini was speaking at a dissemination forum organised by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and JICA to share the successes of the 'Strengthening Community-based Health Services Focusing on the Life-Course Approach (CHPS for Life) project.

The event, which marked the end of the 17 years of the JICA technical cooperation project on CHPS, was on the theme, "Strength in Collaboration: A Journey of Partnership and Sustainable Growth."

The CHPS for Life Project was designed to support Ghana's Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda by improving access and utilization of primary health care through CHPS using the Life-Course Approach in the three Nor Regions of Ghana.

The project was implemented in three phases, with the first starting in 2006-2011, the second phase from 2011-2016 and the third phase in 2017-2023.

The Deputy Minister said the project further resonated with the national goal of achieving UHC, so far helping develop the capacities of staff and community partners, enhancing supportive supervision, the development referral and feedback systems, to improve the quality of care as well as bridge access gaps to primary health care services.

The capacity of our communities to demand quality health services through its community engagement activities has also been improved in the project areas, he added.

Mr Seini said the CHPS for Life Project had been instrumental in the development of the National CHPS Policy and Implementation guidelines especially in the areas of Non-Communicable Diseases, nutrition, educationvaccination, family planning, and strengthened referral systems.

He called for further engagement with JICA and other health partners to ensure active collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

At the end of the project, 1, 136 Community Health Officers (CHOS) across 74 districts in seven regions were trained to help improve health delivery. Capacity-building support was also extended to 3,386 nursing students and 288 tutors in health training schools.

It has also enhanced the Community Health Action Plan (CHAP) with Life-Course Approach implementation in 255 CHPS zones and facilitated a more vital collaboration with local governments for increased support for health at the district level.

Dr Kofi Issah, the Director of the Family Health Division GHS, representing the Director General, acknowledged the project's contribution to Ghana's efforts at achieving UHC by 2030.

He said the success of the project was the result of the strong commitment of the Regional Directors of Health Ser and urged health workers to work assiduously to sustain the gains.

Mr Oshamu Ishida, the First Secretary, Embassy of Japan, commended the project team, the Ministry of Health, and the GHS for their dedication and hard work, emphasising the need for the Government to sustain the innovations.

He reaffirmed Japan’s continuous support to Ghana’s health sector and the country’s effort to achieve Universal Health Coverage.