Accra, 01 December, 2015 - Dr Owen Laws Kaluwa, on Tuesday 01 December, 2015, presented his credentials to the Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Hannah Tetteh to officially assume office as the World Health Organization Representative (WR) to Ghana.

The Honourable Minister formally welcomed Dr Kaluwa to Ghana.  In his response, WR thanked Hon. Minister and the Government of Ghana for accepting his nomination to Ghana as WHO Representative.   He extended greetings from the Director General and Regional Director to the Minister and people of Ghana and reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting Ghana to improve the health of Ghanaians.  WR assured that he would do his best for Ghana; working in partnership with the government as well as other partners.

Madam Hannah Tetteh expressed her gratitude to WHO for the great work being done in Ghana and gave as an example the support provided during the Ebola crisis last year.   She mentioned that WR’s predecessor worked closely with the Government to design response and preparedness for the worst situation should the Ebola outbreak hit Ghana.

Hon. Minister also mentioned the disparity in terms of health care between the northern and southern zones in Ghana and requested that WHO and the UN should, in addition to the national level, focus their activities to cover districts and regions in collaboration with the metropolitan and municipal authorities.  She reiterated that the NHIS has been incredibly useful although funding the Scheme has been a challenge.

WR indicated that the issues that the Hon. Minister highlighted were very much in line with the WHO leadership priorities. One of these is Universal Health Coverage which aims at ensuring that all people have access to the health services they need without being pushed into poverty in doing so. Therefore an efficient National Health Insurance system is a very important aspect of this, and WHO is committed to support Ghana in this area.

On EVD, Dr Kaluwa informed that it is very important to continue to maintain high vigilance given that the Outbreak is not yet over. He emphasized that the key is to strengthen core capacities in line with International Health Regulations and resilient health systems. 

He also mentioned that WHO will continue to support the country to address the unfinished business of MDGs, particularly in the area of maternal health.

Dr Kaluwa expressed hope that together with Government, he would do his best and that there was need to broaden the partnership in addressing health issues to include other sectors whose actions and mandates also impact health in order to make a difference in people’s lives.   Finally, WR said he was honoured to be given this opportunity to serve in Ghana.

Honourable once again, welcomed WR to Ghana and wished him a successful duty tour.

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For further information please contact:

Dr Owen Laws Kaluwa, WHO Representative Ghana, email: kaluwao [at] who.int

Ms Sakyibea Akuffo-Parry, Operations Officer, WHO Ghana, email: akuffoparrys [at] who.int

Ms Joana Ansong, Health Promotion Officer, WHO Ghana, email: ansongj [at] who.int