Ghana Intensifies Efforts to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases by 2030

Ghana is intensifying efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2030, with stakeholders calling for stronger domestic financing, public-private partnerships and coordinated action in line with the WHO 2030 NTD Roadmap.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister for Health, Hon. Grace Ayensu Danquah, said NTDs continue to place a significant health and socioeconomic burden on vulnerable communities.

While Ghana has made progress in eliminating some NTDs, she stressed that sustaining these gains would require increased domestic investment and closer collaboration among government institutions, development partners and the private sector.

She urged stakeholders to make clear, practical and time-bound commitments, while encouraging private-sector actors to support NTD programmes through funding, technology, logistics, research and health-system strengthening. Such investments, she noted, would help protect human capital, improve productivity and support national development.

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Dr. Hafez Adam Taher, Chairman of the ICCC for NTDs and Technical Coordinating Director at the Ministry of Health, called for stronger collaboration among Ministries, Departments and Agencies to integrate NTD interventions into existing programmes covering nutrition, social protection, education, water and sanitation.

He said coordinated action was essential to protect vulnerable communities and sustain Ghana’s progress in tackling NTDs.

Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, National Ambassador for NTDs, urged Ghana to take greater ownership of the elimination agenda through increased domestic financing, improved coordination and effective data sharing.

She stressed that NTDs should be treated as a development challenge rather than simply as neglected diseases, and called on government and the private sector to make sustained contributions to the fight.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and secure practical commitments towards achieving a Ghana free from neglected tropical diseases by 2030.