The government has prioritised some of Ghana’s most underserved communities in the first phase of its Free Primary Health Care programme, with 4,574 health facilities currently providing services under the initiative.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh said the programme is being implemented in 135 of Ghana’s 216 districts, with all 16 regions represented in the first phase.
The selection, he explained, was deliberate, with districts facing greater healthcare access challenges prioritised to ensure the programme reaches communities with some of the greatest unmet health needs.
Giving an update on the initiative on Monday, September 7, Mr Akandoh said the first phase covers underserved districts in regions including the Upper West, Upper East, Oti and Western North.
“We have 135 districts out of the 216, and they are all in the 16 regions. So in every region, we have selected the deprived district to be part of the first phase,” he said.
The facilities participating in the programme include 3,781 CHPS compounds, 746 health centres and 48 polyclinics, alongside other eligible facilities.
The scale of the rollout means that access to free primary healthcare is no longer limited to major hospitals or urban centres, with the programme extending services into communities through the country’s primary healthcare network.
The government has also adopted an inclusive provider model, allowing facilities affiliated with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission to participate alongside state-owned facilities.
Mr Akandoh said the approach was intended to ensure that communities are not excluded simply because the nearest healthcare facility is operated by a non-state institution.
“We’re not leaving anybody behind,” he said.
The programme is designed to tackle one of the key barriers to healthcare access — the cost of obtaining basic medical services. By removing or reducing financial barriers at the primary-care level, government expects more people to seek medical attention earlier rather than delaying treatment because of cost.
The initiative also places greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention, allowing health authorities to address illnesses before they develop into more serious conditions requiring expensive treatment.
Government’s long-term objective is to expand the programme from the current 135 districts to all 216 districts by the end of 2027.
The nationwide expansion would make free primary healthcare available across Ghana and deepen the role of community-level facilities in delivering essential health services.
For now, the government says the first-phase strategy of concentrating resources in deprived districts is intended to close existing gaps in healthcare access and ensure that communities with the greatest needs are not left behind as the programme expands.
