DODOWA, Ghana, 15 April: President John Dramani Mahama has officially launched Ghana’s landmark Free Primary Health Care Programme, a transformative initiative aimed at expanding access to quality and affordable healthcare for all citizens.
The launch, held on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at the Shai Osudoku District Hospital in the Greater Accra Region, marks a major step toward strengthening Ghana’s primary healthcare system and advancing the country’s drive toward universal health coverage.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Mahama acknowledged the progress made under the National Health Insurance Scheme but noted that significant gaps in access still remain, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
“In Ghana, we introduced the national health insurance scheme and it expanded coverage and affordability in a major way but since we introduced the national health insurance scheme, we still have a lot of pockets of underserved areas, especially in the rural areas and so for countries that would want to extend the reach so that they can achieve universal health coverage, they include in it the primary health care aspect of it” he said.
He explained that a key pillar of the Free Primary Healthcare Programme is prevention, with a strong focus on early detection and treatment of illnesses before they become severe.
“One key aspect of the free primary health care is preventive to identify the illness and get early treatment before it develops into something else and so a major part of the free primary health care is the health screening aspect and we are encouraging that when we roll out the free primary health care, our traditional leaders and our religious leaders will help us to mobilise their communities” he stated.
President Mahama further clarified that the new programme is designed to complement not replace the existing national health insurance system.
“The free primary health care is complementary to the national health insurance. It doesn’t, it’s not coming to replace it. It is coming to complement the national health insurance. So it doesn’t mean that because the free primary health care has come, you shouldn’t get a national health insurance card. You should still have a national health insurance card but at the point of examination and treatment at the polyclinic level, at the health centre level, at the CHIPS compound level, at the health kiosk level, you don’t need your NHIS card at that point. You just need your Ghana card or any form of identification to show that you are Ghanaian and you are resident in that community to be able to access health care” he said.
The Free Primary Health Care Programme is expected to significantly reduce barriers to basic healthcare, particularly at the community level, while reinforcing Ghana’s broader commitment to equitable and inclusive health delivery.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh (#RomeoWrites✍️) / Ahotoronline.com | Ghana🇬🇭