As we continue to grapple with measures at containing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, it is becoming imperative to, as a matter of urgency also throw our searchlight on the social and economic impact of the pandemic on critical institutions during and post Covid-19.
This week, the Bulletin highlights some aspects of a write up by Dr. Erasmus E. A. Agongo, Consultant Public Health Physician and former Director, GHS on the topic: Reflections on Ghana’s Response to the Covid-19, with particular reference to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Ghana Health Service Health Research Centres in the wake of the pandemic.
The life-wire of the three zonal Health Research Centres is donor funding for projects. More than eighty percent (80%) of their staff on payrolls are paid from these projects’ funds.
The three centres were already struggling to maintain their critical staff due to diminishing external fund flow – as a consequence of the changing global financing architecture and Ghana’s attainment of lower middle-income status. And now with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic most of these projects are in suspense, thus compounding the problem. If they are not supported to maintain the staff by way of salary bail-out, they will lose them permanently and this will have serious consequences for the survival of the centres. These are highly skilled personnel who are in high demand both locally and internationally.
The Centres’ research work has contributed to several health policy and systems reforms and programme development and implementation in the country. Some of their major contributions include the ground work towards the development of the national Community based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) and the national health insurance policy, vaccine trials (e.g. CSM, rota, malaria), intervention trials (e.g. Vit A supplementation, impregnated bed-nets), drug resistance trials (e.g. anti-malarial drugs, mortality studies, etc.).
They have also developed strong collaborations with several universities and research institutions in both the North and South divide, thus attracting resources into the country, building our human resource base in public health and research, and contributing to the generation of knowledge globally.
Undoubtedly, they are important national assets that must not be allowed to collapse. It is already abundantly clear from the early lessons from COVID-19 pandemic that Ghana will have to invest more in public health and health research to position the country to better fight such future public health threats. Therefore, these important national assets, should not be allowed to collapse but be supported to be part of the national public health infrastructure the President spoke about during his 8th address on the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be too costly to let them collapse, and we start afresh investing in the construction of new structures and training fresh manpower. The training of a research scientist takes between 4 -7 years, and that is when they will begin to learn from senior colleagues.
For all these various reasons it is recommended that Government should bail-out the Research Centres through the following measures:
- Pay the salaries of the critical staff of the three centres for the next three to six months, depending on the dynamics of the pandemic; and
- Absorb some of this critical staff into Government pay-roll in the medium- to long-term.
Editor’s comment: In the midst of the myriad of challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Bulletin is in total agreement with the writer on the need for government to take pragmatic steps at supporting the three (3) GHS Health Research Centres, namely, Navrongo, Kintampo and Dodowa Health Research Centres. Undoubtedly, the contributions of these Centres in shaping health policies and health systems reforms in the country cannot be overemphasised.
In addition to the proposals made by Dr. Agongo the Bulletin holds the view that given their critical role in national affairs, it will not be out of place to allocate part of the stimulus package that has been announced by government to support the private sector to the Health Research Centres during and post covid-19.
It is the hope of the Bulletin that the Ghana Health Service in consultation with leadership of the health research centres will engage with government in finding suitable solutions to combat the challenges that have been posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is surely the way to go to prevent the collapse of such critical national assets.
