Fitch Solutions anticipates expansion in health budget from GHS 15.2bn to GHS 16.5bn in 2024
Ghana’s health budget is set to see a substantial expansion in the year 2024, climbing from ¢15.2 billion in 2023 to an impressive ¢16.5 billion. This surge, Fitch Solutions notes, is propelled by the government’s commitment to enhancing healthcare provision and spurring economic recovery.
Fitch Solutions in its recent report, underscores the medical device market’s buoyant prospects in Ghana, with projections hinging on increased government expenditure on healthcare and the nation’s ongoing economic revival. The firm observes that the continuous progression of health infrastructure projects and the rollout of the National Health Insurance Scheme will be pivotal in bolstering budget allocations to healthcare, encompassing pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
In an intriguing insight, Fitch Solutions forecasts a revival in Ghana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024 after grappling with substantial contractions in 2022 and 2023. This resurgence, expected to reach a commendable 3.7% growth rate in 2024, follows the daunting challenges imposed by soaring price pressures and rigorous fiscal consolidation measures. Notably, GDP will persist below its five-year pre-pandemic average of 5.3%.
Turning the spotlight onto the medical devices market, Fitch Solutions anticipates an across-the-board ascent in product categories, with robust growth, often in double digits, denominated in US dollars. Consumables and dental products emerge as the frontrunners in this flourishing landscape.
Consumables, constituting a significant share of the medical devices market in Ghana, are poised to exhibit the swiftest Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) at an impressive 21.3% in US dollar terms throughout the five-year forecast period until 2027. This trajectory is underpinned by an increasingly accessible healthcare ecosystem as Ghana relentlessly pursues universal health coverage objectives.
Intriguingly, dental products, while representing the smallest fraction of the market, are projected to register a formidable CAGR of 21.1% from 2022 to 2027. Despite the provision of free dental services in the public health sector, challenges loom in rural areas where access remains constrained, primarily due to equipment shortages and a dearth of trained dental professionals.
