Case Study of Ghana - Medical Devices and Biomaterials for the Developing World - page 23

Table 2.2 Health care facilities in Ghana

% of health
care facilities Facility Public sector Private sector Total Density (per 100 k)

Health post 285 2 287 1.204 9.55

Health center 1,133 1,231 2,364 9.9172 78.7

District hospital 115 221 336 1.4096 11.19

Provincial hospital 8 0 8 0.0336 0.266

Regional hospital 9 0 9 0.0378 0.299

Reproduced from the WHO Baseline country survey on medical devices (2010c)

Table 2.3 Leading causes
of death in Ghana, 2010

Cause Rank

Diarrheal diseases 1

Stroke 2

Coronary heart disease 3

HIV/AIDS 4

In fl uenza and pneumonia 5

Tuberculosis 6

Lung disease 7

Malaria 8

Road traf fi c accidents 9

Kidney disease 10

Source : World Health Rankings

example for MTS calculation in this text, we will discuss a few points that are rel-
evant in the case of Ghana.
Computation of an MTS is more enlightening in the context of comparison to
other nations. As such, the metric for different nations must make use of a widely
applicable naming system. We will use the Global Medical Device Nomenclature
(GMDN). Discussion of this comparison will take place in Chap. 6 . In developing
this example, the five-step method introduced in Chap. 1 will be of use:

Step 1: Identify the top causes of local mortality/morbidity
According to the most recent available data, the top ten causes of death in Ghana are
shown in Table 2.3 (World Health Rankings).

Step 2: Use WHO guidelines for equipment necessary to diagnose and treat these
conditions
The bolded entries in Table 2.3 are included in the WHO's Availability Matrix. The
devices that are necessary to treat these conditions, along with the devices (in the
appropriate quantities) that are necessary to provide a baseline level of primary care
in Ghanaian health facilities, would be included in Ghana's baseline inventory for
the purpose of MTS calculation.
Determining the necessary scale of technology requires a closer look at the dis-
tribution and classification of health facilities in Ghana. The important figures are
reproduced in Table 2.4 .