President John Dramani Mahama has highlighted the role of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares) in supporting families facing the financial burden of treating serious and expensive medical conditions.
He said diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, stroke and congenital heart disease could impose huge financial costs on families and push them into poverty if they were left to shoulder the full cost of treatment.
President Mahama made the remarks during a Free Primary Healthcare Durbar in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region as part of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour.
He explained that while the government’s Free Primary Healthcare Programme was designed to provide basic healthcare services at the community level, additional interventions were needed for patients requiring specialised and expensive treatment.
“That is why we established the Ghana Medical Trust Fund,” President Mahama said.
He cited the case of a child born with three holes in the heart whose father, a teacher, had been presented with a bill of GH¢154,000 for surgery.
According to the President, the family applied to the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, which subsequently paid the entire cost of the operation.
He said the child had since recovered and was now healthy, active and able to play football.
President Mahama said the example demonstrated the importance of having a healthcare safety net for families confronted with conditions they could not afford to treat on their own.
He explained that Free Primary Healthcare was only one layer of the government’s broader healthcare strategy, which also includes the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
The President nevertheless encouraged all Ghanaians to register with the NHIS, stressing that patients whose conditions require treatment beyond the primary healthcare level would need NHIS coverage when referred to district hospitals and other facilities.
He said government was also working to improve access to healthcare by providing medical equipment to facilities across the country.
According to him, 25,000 medical equipment items had already been delivered, with another 12,000 expected.
The equipment includes diagnostic kits for home visits, motorcycles and tricycles to enable health professionals to reach people in remote communities.
President Mahama said the combination of preventive healthcare, free primary treatment, health insurance and support for costly specialised treatment was intended to move Ghana closer to Universal Health Coverage.
He urged Ghanaians to take their health seriously by undergoing regular screening and seeking medical attention early whenever they notice signs of illness.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭