‘Primary healthcare at your door, not charity; it is smart healthcare’ – Anatu Bogobiri Esq

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri Esq., has described the Free Primary Health Care Programme as a strategic investment in improving access to healthcare and building a healthier population.

Madam Bogobiri said the programme’s house-to-house approach is helping take healthcare services directly to people, particularly those who face financial and geographical barriers to accessing health facilities.

She commended the Mahama administration for the programme, stressing that bringing basic healthcare services directly to households should not be viewed as welfare or charity.

“Primary healthcare at your door is not charity. It is a right, and it is smart Healthcare.”

She cited the case of a man in Fian in the Upper West Region who, according to her, had lived with an open wound for 54 years without receiving appropriate care.

The Free Primary Health Care team, led by Ghana Health Service Director-General Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, traced the man to his home and provided him with care.

Madam Bogobiri said the model can help detect conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, anaemia and infections early, allowing treatment to begin before illnesses become more serious.

She also said stronger primary healthcare could reduce pressure on hospitals by ensuring that cases that can be managed within communities are treated closer to patients.

“Over 60% of cases seen at district hospitals are primary healthcare cases that could have been managed in the community,” she said.

According to her, the programme also has implications for Ghana’s economic productivity because a healthy population is essential to sustaining the country’s development ambitions.

“A nation cannot reset its economy with a sick workforce. Healthy people build healthy economies,” she said.

Madam Bogobiri said the initiative represents a broader shift in healthcare delivery from treating illnesses after they become severe to preventing and detecting them earlier.