The Ghana government is to increase its investment in health to ensure that Ghanaians enjoy good health and maximise their potential for development, finance minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo (MP) said here in Accra.

"Government will go to great lengths to ensure that the relevant programmes and activities in the health sector are captured in the 2003 budget," he said.

He said health expenditure as a share of total expenditures increased from 4.8 percent in 2001 to 5.0 percent this year.

Osafo-Maafo said primary health care also increased from 3.4 percent in 2001 to 3.9 percent this year, while that of community water and sanitation increased by 7.3 percent between 2001 and 2002.

"Besides, the district assemblies increased their allocation to rural water by 128 percent between 2001 and 2002 while rural water allocation increased by 56 percent."

Notwithstanding, he said a large number of communities even in urban areas and the rural areas still lacked potable water that would increase their health potentials.

In this direction, the finance minister said allocations are expected to rise significantly in the next budget, even if fiscal adjustments become necessary.