A needs assessment exercise for implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) was jointly conducted by the Ministry of Health, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) Ghana, the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC (Convention Secretariat), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during the week of 12 September 2022 in Accra, Ghana.
In Ghana, more than 800,000 Ghanaians continue to smoke and every year, tobacco use kills more than 6,700 Ghanaians, with 66 percent of these deaths being premature, among people under the age of 70. In 2019, tobacco use in Ghana has led to economic losses of around 668 million Ghana cedis (GHC). These losses are equivalent to 0.2 percent of Ghana’s GDP.
By ratifying the WHO FCTC in 2004 and the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in 2021, Ghana has clearly demonstrated its commitment to tackle the tobacco threat and to improve the lives of its citizens. Indeed, through the adoption and implementation of the Public Health Act in 2012 and the tobacco control regulations in 2016, Ghana has managed to keep tobacco use prevalence very low with rates well below 10% for males and less than 1% for females. However, tobacco use among youth, especially girls is concerning.
As part of the joint WHO FCTC needs assessment mission, a series of meetings with various government departments and other stakeholders were also conducted during this week. As a result of these consultations, a number of recommendations were presented to the Honorable Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Minister of Health. Amongst these are the need to strengthen multisectoral cooperation for the implementation of the WHO FCTC, to amend the current tobacco control measures in the Public Health Act 2012 to remove the current allowances for “designated smoking areas” and to strengthen measures to protect youth by regulating novel and emerging tobacco and nicotine products such as Shisha, banning the sale of small packs of cigarettes and introducing a specific excise tax on tobacco in accordance with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Directive on the harmonization of excise duties on tobacco products, as well as recommendations in the WHO Technical Manual on Tobacco Tax Policy and Administration and the guidelines for the implementation of Article 6 of the WHO FCTC.
The Investment Case for Tobacco Control in Ghana reported that the implementation and enforcement of the WHO FCTC modeled measures would, over the next 15 years, avert more than 20,000 deaths and at the same time generate economic benefits, representing a return on investment of 4:1.
The mission team discussed with Dr. Francis Chisaka KASOLO, WHO Representative in Ghana, and Mr. Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, respectively, the importance of coordination to support the Government of Ghana in accelerating the implementation of the WHO FCTC through the FCTC 2030 project.
The mission team also met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator Mr Charles Abani and discussed the importance of realizing benefits of the WHO FCTC as an accelerator of sustainable development.
This needs assessment exercise has taken place within the framework of the FCTC 2030 project thanks to the generous financial support of the governments of the United Kingdom, Australia and Norway with the technical support of the Convention Secretariat.