Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Bagbin, has formally re-inaugurated the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters and sworn five new members of its Board into office, pledging his support for efforts to advance access to quality healthcare and protect the rights and dignity of vulnerable people.
The Speaker also launched the Commissionxs Endowment Fund with a personal donation of GH¢100,000, calling for stronger institutional and financial support for initiatives aimed at bridging the gap between human rights, healthcare, and public policy.
The ceremony, held at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on Thursday September 17, marked a renewed chapter for the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, an organisation founded by Naa Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle to promote health and human rights advocacy across Ghana and Africa.
Declaring the Commission duly inaugurated, Mr. Bagbin said institutions such as the Commission had an important role to play in ensuring that laws and policies translated into tangible improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.
xWe need commissions like the African Commission on Health and Human Rightsx to act as a watchdog, as advocates, and as a bridge between policy, legislative instruments that we pass in Parliament, and the everyday critical realities of ordinary Ghanaians and Africans,x he said.
As part of the ceremony, Speaker Bagbin administered the oath of office to five new members of the Commissionxs Board.
The new Board members are Bishop Dr. Louis Christian Godson, Dr. Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, Apostle Kwabla, Dr. Daniel Asamoah and Mrs. Patricia Afua Antwi Blekpe.
The Board is led by Naa Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle, Founder and Chairman of the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters.
Their induction is expected to strengthen the Commissionxs institutional leadership as it begins a renewed programme of work focusing on health advocacy, human rights protection, research, accountability, and policy engagement.
A major highlight of the ceremony was the launch of the Commissionxs Endowment Fund, which is intended to provide sustainable financing for its programmes and activities.
Mr. Bagbin, after formally launching the Fund, announced a personal contribution of GH¢100,000.
xI want to take this opportunity to declare the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters as duly inaugurated,x he said before officially launching the Endowment Fund.
xWith this, personally, I will donate 100,000.x
The Speaker stressed the importance of sustainable financing for institutions whose mandates require long-term interventions, noting that dependence on irregular budgetary allocations, short-term donor support, or temporary contributions could undermine their effectiveness.
Using healthcare financing as an example, he highlighted the financial burden faced by patients requiring regular dialysis and said dedicated funding mechanisms could help improve access to essential health services.
Mr. Bagbin also emphasised the need for Ghana to continue addressing challenges affecting vulnerable and marginalised populations, including access to healthcare, mental healthcare financing, and the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
He said Parliament had a responsibility to enact laws protecting the rights and liberties of citizens but acknowledged that legislation alone could not address every societal challenge.
According to him, civil society institutions must complement the work of government by monitoring implementation, advocating for vulnerable groups, and ensuring that policy outcomes respond to peoplexs lived experiences.
He urged the Commissionxs leadership to remain objective, evidence-driven, and accessible, particularly to rural communities, the urban poor, and marginalised populations.
Rt. Hon. Bagbin said the ultimate measure of the Commissionxs work should be the extent to which its interventions enable people to experience justice, healing, and dignity.
xQuality health care must be a daily lived reality here in Ghana and Africa today,x he said.
Founder of the Commission, Naa Professor Edmund Nminyem Delle, traced the organisationxs origins to a decision taken in Congo-Brazzaville in 1989 to advocate for people facing discrimination and health-related challenges, particularly during the HIV/AIDS crisis.
He said the Commission subsequently operated in Anglophone Africa, with Ghana becoming an important centre for its activities.
Prof. Delle recalled the organisationxs interventions in supporting people fleeing persecution and torture, including journalists and other vulnerable persons.
He said his personal property was at one point made available to accommodate people seeking refuge, with the facility eventually hosting hundreds of people from Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and other parts of the world.
He also recounted partnerships that facilitated medical treatment and the relocation or return of beneficiaries to countries including the United States, Canada, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.
However, he said the Commissionxs activities later slowed due to financial constraints.
Prof. Delle said the decision to revive the Commission was driven by the need to establish a stronger platform for research, advocacy, and support for people whose health and human rights are compromised by poverty, discrimination and inadequate access to healthcare.
xWe want to make the centre to study what we mean by human rights, what we mean by health, and what we mean by advocacy,x he said.
He stressed that every person, irrespective of their social or economic circumstances, deserved to be treated with dignity and have access to appropriate healthcare.
He also called for stronger attention to the conditions of prisoners and other vulnerable populations, drawing from cases he encountered during his earlier work in Ghanaxs prisons.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Bishop Dr. Louis Christian Godson, outlined three core pillars that will guide its renewed operations: advocacy and education; accountability and redress; and policy integration.
He said the Commission would intensify public education on patientsx rights and engage communities and healthcare providers on the need to treat healthcare as a fundamental human right.
Under its accountability and redress pillar, the Commission intends to create platforms through which citizens can report violations, monitor alleged negligence in health facilities, and raise concerns about environmental pollution.
Bishop Godson said the organisation would also work with Parliament, the Ministry of Health, and relevant agencies across Ghana and other African countries to promote the integration of human rights principles into health policies.
Among the issues identified for sustained advocacy are mental health financing, access to healthcare, environmental health protection, and expansion of health insurance.
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