Accra, Nov. 21, GNA - The Ministry of Health (MOH) and its health partners on Friday signed an Aide Memoire to serve as a guide to its activities next year.

Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health, at a short ceremony in Accra, said the document signified a collective agreement between both parties to go by the tenets of the document that were collated at the end of a four-day health summit. He said it was the collective expectation that the signing of the Aide Memoire would lead to the achievement of the theme for 2009, which was "Change for better results; Improving Maternal and Neo-natal Health."

The Aide Memoire covered, among others, the adoption of a Programme of Work (POW), private sector involvement, gender policy, commodity security and the National Health Insurance. Major Quashigah commended all its partners for their active participation and contributions during the MOH and Health Partners' summit.

He said the summit sought to identify the gaps in the policies and programme implementations of the Ministry, and ensured that those loopholes were addressed and also propose a budget for the ensuing year, with particular emphasis on quality maternal health care. Major Quashigah explained that the process of arriving at the Aide Memoire involved the production of a draft POW, presentations, discussions and the identification of action oriented issues and said the document fully expressed the expectations of all its stakeholders. He said the document would guide the Ministry in its efforts to ensure good health in 2009.

Mr Donald Teitelbaum, US Ambassador, commended the government for the implementation of the Free Delivery Service Programme and other interventions aimed at promoting quality healthcare to reduce the high maternal and neo-natal mortality and strengthen the health care delivery system.

He assured the MOH of continuous support from its health partners and also called for the need to maximize capital by exploring avenues including private sector involvement in health care programmes.