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Ghanas Move to develop Policies against Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse

Ghanas Move to develop Policies against Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse

Ghana’s commitment to anti-tobacco legislation is worth emulating, having been the first country to prohibit the advertising of tobacco under a government directive issued as early as 1982. In 2012, the Government of Ghana passed the Public Health Act (851) that clearly highlighted the Tobacco Control Measures in the country.  This Act was further reinforced by the Tobacco Control Regulations (L.I. 2247) that was initiated on 4th January 2017. The Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products also came into force in January 2022.

Ghana continues to join member states of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) and the WHO to advance the fight against tobacco use with the goal to eliminate the threat associated with its use. To this effect, the country recently launched the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) 2030 Project with support from Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) provides an opportunity for Ghana to further strengthen its tobacco control efforts, especially with the introduction of shisha, which has become the new craze for most youths.

The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has taken the initiative to prioritize NCDs (including tobacco, alcohol and SSBs) prevention and control within the “National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework 2022-2025”. This Framework recommends a tobacco tax increase as a means to finance health, particularly NCDs and also calls for government action toward NCD Funding and investment.

Civil Society Involvement in Ghana’s Tobacco Control Efforts

There is now a global agenda for the prevention and control of NCDs in place, with shared responsibilities for all countries based on concrete targets. However, progress at the national level is primarily driven by a strong political will which is not adequate. A whole-of-society approach is essential to the success of the NCD response, and civil society in particular plays a critical role.

The Vision for Alternative Development (VALD-Ghana) and the Ghana NCD Alliance are a vibrant and strong NCD civil society movement accelerating and sustaining progress at the national level particularly, on preventive health. VALD-Ghana is an important and leading civil society organization in Ghana that advocated for the signing and ratification of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). It subsequently mobilized CSOs to advocate for the passage and assent of the Public Health Act 2012, (ACT 851).

VALD-Ghana has over the years collaborated with the Ministry of Health, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ghana Health Service (GHS), the Ghana office of the World Health Organization (WHO) to undertake numerous tobacco control activities including engagement meetings with Parliamentarians, Tobacco Control Stakeholders meetings, community sensitizations forums, school education on harmful effects of tobacco, the tobacco control laws and the FCTC among others.

Strategies deployed

  • Engage in strategic multisectoral partnership to ensure wide stakeholder buy-in, high-quality programs, efficiency, and maximize the benefit to target groups
  • Agreed on shared goals and sustain a sense of ownership for lasting collaboration among partners
  • Prepare for rapid response and prompt follow-up to seize and fully utilize emerging opportunities
  • Prepare to be strategic in countering opposition from the tobacco industry
  • Gather data and evaluate interventions to inform program interventions
  • Choose appropriate media outlets and spokespersons to build political and public pressure
  • Hold the government to account for its commitments to tobacco control, coordinate CSO response, and mobilize new allies for action on tobacco control, etc.

Ghana has made substantial progress in implementing tobacco control measures in line with the FCTC and MPOWER framework but much work still remains to be done in certain areas. The WHO FCFC Articles 5.3 (industry interference), Article 6 (tax measures), article 8 (public smoking) and article 15 (illicit trade) among others have not been fully implemented and much work remains in those areas.

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