He said essential medication against NCDs, such as heart attack, stroke, cancers, asthma and diabetes, could save lives, reduce suffering and improve health care delivery in the country.

Dr Adomako Kissi disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in an interview via zoom from Berlin, in Germany, at this year’s World Health Summit (WHS).

The three-day event, was meant to set the agenda for a healthier future by inspiring innovative solutions for better health and well-being of people, and it was attended by scientists , politicians , the private sector, and civil society from around the world .

The WHS 2022 was on the theme: “From words to action for better non-communicable disease outcomes; innovations and good practices to develop national capacities.”

It aimed at strengthening exchange, stimulate innovative solutions to health challenges, position global health as a key political issue and promote a global health conversation in the spirit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Adomako Kissi said “so far the WHS has been informative and very engaging. The interactive session has made it very clear that every nation including Ghana has to take its people’s health seriously and to prioritise the health needs both in deeds and in words.

“There have been many discussions, beating cancer plan, using civil society groups to augment health work, building research capacity, the cost of inaction, investment to end HIV, tuberculosis, strengthening and financing health systems, meaningful engagement with governments, the role of parliamentarians in the development of global pandemic treaty and digital transformation of prevention.

Dr Kissi said the panel discussed cardiovascular/heart diseases, cancer, diabetes, chest diseases as well as mental health disorders, which are the dominant cause of death and disability across the world.

Dr Adomako Kissi indicated that, statistics showed that, nearly two billion people globally have no access to essential medicines, which meant that essential medicines were unavailable, unaffordable, inaccessible, unacceptable, or of low quality for more than a quarter of the population worldwide.

According to him, cost-effective, evidence-based interventions, to prevent and control NCDs have been established, however, the best delivery of the interventions across existing health systems and the diverse population was the challenge.

He said  “It is time to push hard and act now so we can translate our global commitment into actions. An important aspect of NCDs care is access to essential medicines and supplies. Truly, essential medication can save lives, reduce suffering and improve health”.