President John Dramani Mahama has urged Ghanaians to embrace the Government’s Free Primary Healthcare Programme, saying the initiative will bring basic healthcare services directly into communities through home visits by nurses and expanded access to local health facilities.
The President said the programme was designed to reduce out-of-pocket medical costs by providing free basic healthcare services, including home-based screenings for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
He made the appeal during a community engagement in Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga East Municipality as part of the first day of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour of the Upper East Region.
According to President Mahama, community nurses will visit households to conduct basic health checks, identify chronic conditions early and encourage timely treatment before illnesses become severe.
He said the initiative would also strengthen maternal and child healthcare by ensuring that pregnant women received antenatal care and that newborns were monitored for healthy growth and routine immunisation.
Three-tier healthcare system
The President explained that the Government had structured healthcare delivery around three complementary pillars: the Free Primary Healthcare Programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, also known as MahamaCares.
He said the Free Primary Healthcare Programme covered services delivered through health kiosks, Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, health centres and polyclinics.
According to him, patients requiring treatment beyond the polyclinic level would transition into the NHIS system through district hospitals.
He said the Ghana Medical Trust Fund had been created to support patients with serious and expensive medical conditions such as cancers, kidney disease, strokes, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Investment in specialised healthcare
President Mahama said the Government had begun equipping major hospitals with diagnostic equipment, including CT scanners, MRI machines and X-ray facilities.
He disclosed that catheterisation laboratories had been secured for Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, while similar facilities were being developed in Kumasi and at Tamale Teaching Hospital.
According to him, the Tamale project would become a fully equipped cardiothoracic centre capable of providing specialist treatment and heart surgery.
He said patients from the Upper East Region and other northern regions who required advanced cardiovascular care could be referred to Tamale for specialised treatment.
Early detection and prevention
The President stressed that the Free Primary Healthcare Programme was intended to shift healthcare towards prevention and early detection.
He said regular home visits and community-level screenings would help identify conditions such as hypertension and diabetes before they developed into life-threatening complications.
The Minister of Health, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said the Ghana Medical Trust Fund had been established to address diseases that were not adequately covered by the NHIS, particularly cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases.
The Government believes the combination of free primary healthcare, national health insurance coverage and specialised medical support will improve access to healthcare and reduce the financial burden of treatment on households across the country.
