01
Overview
Background
All countries have to decide which public health services to invest in for their populations. Ensuring equitable access to quality health services without financial risk for patients is a core responsibility of the state. In countries with highly constrained budgets, decisions on how to ensure access, equity, financial risk protection and entitlements are even more critical, both for personal welfare and national development. Many LMICs face rapidly shifting demographics and dramatic reductions in donor funding for global and public health, making priority setting in health even more critical. The project will support countries in navigating these transitions to build resilient, equitable health systems. Specifically, the project will encourage and support health policy decisions that are both evidence-based and equitable, meaning they are grounded in principles of fairness. As part of this effort, this project will support economic evaluation, applied ethics, locally constructed value frameworks and inclusive deliberation in the health priority setting process. This will not only lead to more efficient use of budgets by directing resources towards highly cost-effective health interventions but also strengthen capacity in these areas among academics and policymakers in the project countries to ensure sustainability.
Project Goal
The overall goal of the new project is to help low- and middle-income countries handle the large cuts in development aid. The country teams in the project will help improve the legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness of priority setting within their respective countries through evidence-informed, context-specific approaches.
Project outcomes
Outcome 1: Country capacity strengthened to translate and align evidence-based priorities into actionable health system reforms
Outcome 2: Evidence-informed priority setting institutionalized within ministries of health and academic institutions
Outcome 3: FairChoices advanced as a tool for priority setting in health with a focus on innovation for refining and expanding the methods and tools used for priority setting
Outcome 4: Global, regional, and local priority setting networks are strengthened to build and expand partnerships
Key Partners
- Ministry of Health
- Ghana Health Service
- National Health Insurance Authority
- Ghana Medical Trust Fund
- University of Ghana
Project objectives
What we're working toward.
02
Cost the National Essential Health Services Package, especially PHC-level interventions, to support the new government’s Free PHC policy
03
Build the capacity of the MOH, NHIA, GHS, and other relevant state agencies at the PhD and Master’s levels in priority setting and evidence-based decision-making
04
Operationalise the National Values Framework (NVF) through structured operational tools Framework to support priority-setting mechanisms in the health sector
05
Use the FairChoices model for Health Technology Assessments and ethical frameworks for costing, and for revising health benefit packages to support health decisions in Ghana
06
Regularly conduct fiscal space analysis to support the health sector in resource prioritization and evidence-based decision-making
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Institutionalize the FairChoices model for costing and priority-setting across institutions and relevant state agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund
08
Secure high-level agreement on new additions to Ghana’s NCD benefits, and align the NCD package with primary health care and the Essential Health Service Package for system-level implementation
09
Develop and update evidence-informed treatment guidelines (STG) with levels of care and a Primary Health Care (PHC) focus
Team
The people behind the work.
P
Prof. Kwesi Torpey
Principal Investigator
P
Prof. Genevieve Cecilia Naa Okailey Aryeetey
Co-Investigator
D
Dr. Leonard Baatiema
Co-Investigator
D
Dr. Richmond Owusu
Co-Investigator
M
Mr. Edmond Nwinbamon Balika
Analytical Team Lead
M
Mr. Emmanuel Bugyei Kwarteng
Analytical Team Member
M
Mrs. Fridaus Abdul Samed
Analytical Team Member
Roadmap
Phases of the Project (2026-2030) Phase 1
1
Phase 1
Phase 1
- Mapping and validation of essential health services and interventions to support costing and the development of health benefit packages
- Cost the National Essential Health Services Package, especially PHC-level interventions, to support the new government’s Free PHC policy
- Build the capacity of the MOH, NHIA, GHS, and other relevant state agencies at the PhD and Master’s levels in priority setting and evidence-based decision-making
2
Phase 2
Phase 2
- Operationalise the National Values Framework (NVF) through structured operational tools Framework to support priority-setting mechanisms in the health sector
- Institutionalize the FairChoices model for costing and priority-setting across institutions and relevant state agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority, the Ghana Health Service, and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund
- Secure high-level agreement on new additions to Ghana’s NCD benefits, and align the NCD package with primary health care and the Essential Health Service Package for system-level implementation
- Develop and update evidence-informed treatment guidelines (STG) with levels of care and a Primary Health Care (PHC) focus
3
Phase 3
Phase 3
- Use the FairChoices model for Health Technology Assessments and ethical frameworks for costing, and for revising health benefit packages to support health decisions in Ghana
- Regularly conduct fiscal space analysis to support the health sector in resource prioritization and evidence-based decision-making