Positive Effect of The Coronavirus, Economist View

Rethink

• Corona has exposed the use of one sphygmomanometer (blood pressure monitor) at our health center
• Corona has allow the rich to care for the poor
• Infrastructure deficit exposed at our health centers
• It has exposed Ghana health service of the use of one mass balance (weighing scale) at health centers for all patients to use and even removing their footware before using it
• Poor emergency response due to poor settlement plans and locational direction etc.

The Weak Health System

Life expectancy in 2018 for my country Ghana averagely is 63 years by worldhealthexpectancy.com. This means our health sector and health is a challenge.

Most health centers in Ghana are lacking modern facilities and COVID-19 has exposed that. You go to hospital for check up and you will be directed to go to another facility for texting and scanning before coming back to the hospital and which all texting cannot be met.

• A nation which most hospitals do not have Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI) scan, which display the internal structures of the body details. Other modern equipment and laboratories to aid health workers to know the actual health problem one is facing and treat accordingly but due to these inadequacy, health workers have to be doing try and error with our health.
• A nation where we live like we are in the old era (the 10th century), you visit a health center and people who should know best will tell you to remove your footware and stand on the weighing scale even with a lot of skin diseases and viruses around and we see nothing wrong with it in Ghana. One Sphygmomanometer is used on every patient who visit the facility. Now Corona has exposed the bad way health is practice in Ghana.
• A nation where National Health Insurance cannot pay for painkiller drugs and even injection because government revenue is taking care of politicians health care outside the country including their transportation at a high cost. Health insurance and facilities can not cover drugs and scan for pregnant women because politicians allowances are too much that government revenue can not provide the basic  health medication for pregnant women ( like full calcium and other important medicines for growth.
• Over 70% of Ghanaian's do not take balance diet food because health Care is expensive in Ghana. Every meal should contain cereal, protein, vegetables and fruits making the square of a meal but in Ghana, most meal kills vegetables nutrients because of the heat the food goes through before been cooked and fruit is mostly missing in our meals.

Economist View:

For our Economy to be strong, we need to improve the health sector because most hours lost at work places are due to health conditions leading to low productivity and reduced Gross National Product causing low per capita income.

Capital expenditure is inadequate in the health sector, which affect the output of the health personnels and psychologically causing imbalance.

High cost of health care does not allow a lot of people to go for checkup to monitor their health situations and also the time spent at the health center increase stress and the dependency ratio. You go to the hospital at 7:00am and you will be attended to for treatment at 1:00pm, all these are hours lost affecting labour output.

High dependency ratio, unemployment, low productivity, poor development index and standard of living, reduced government revenue, low per capita income, etc.

All these are dangers to the economy and the Ghanaian economy future is in shambles if nothing is done after COVID-19

Solutions:

• If laboratories, NMRI scans and modern equipment are available  at every health center at a subsidized cost, will attract a lot of people to go for medical check-up always and improve government revenue and output.
• Modern Sphygmomanometer and mass balance should be acquired in all health centers so that, they shouldn't be touching all patients skin just like the thermometer gun, which will prevent taking back sickness from hospitals
• Government should set her priorities right in things which will develop both the human and capital resources not bullet proof jackets and new Chambers
• National Health Insurance should be empowered financially to provide basic and powerful drugs for effective treatment
• Government should stop exporting quality health personnel outside the country and keep them in the nation to help and improve productivity and output of goods

We are not in normal times and Ghana is almost in recession.

Watch out for the Security Sector next on Rethink our Economy is out of control, the future is dying, the new generation in big trouble because our thinking is out of control for national development.

#Be yourself# Ghana need us.

By: Mr. Aligah Seyram Emmanuel

Economics Tutor at Tanyigbe Senior High School

Tel: +233 54 622 5631