Healthcare systems must not deny patients lifesaving treatment – Ga Mantse 

By: Godbless Asaana
The Ga Mantse, His Royal Majesty King Nii Teiko Tsuru II, has called for a healthcare system that guarantees access to lifesaving treatment regardless of a person’s financial circumstances, warning that poverty should not determine who receives quality medical care.

He said no Ghanaian should be denied essential healthcare because they could not afford the cost of treatment, particularly as specialised medical services continued to place significant financial pressure on families.

The Ga Mantse made the call when the Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, led a delegation of the Fund to engage stakeholders in the Greater Accra Region as part of its nationwide sensitisation tour.

He described the establishment of the GMTF as a significant intervention in addressing the financial challenges confronting families seeking specialised medical care.

He urged stakeholders to take full advantage of the Fund’s programmes to ensure that vulnerable Ghanaians were not excluded from quality healthcare because of their inability to pay.

The traditional ruler also called on the Fund to explore opportunities to strengthen maternal healthcare, noting that such interventions would complement its broader efforts to improve healthcare delivery.

The engagement forms part of the Fund’s nationwide sensitisation campaign aimed at educating communities and key stakeholders about its mandate, programmes and interventions.

Administrator of the GMTF, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said it was important for the Fund’s message to reach every Ghanaian who remained unaware of its work.

She cautioned against assuming that families in Greater Accra were financially secure simply because the region offered numerous economic opportunities.

“Even here in Greater Accra, families go through enormous difficulties trying to care for relatives suffering from non-communicable diseases,” she said.

Darko-Opoku explained that the Fund was established to address critical gaps in healthcare delivery through interventions in medical equipment, financial support, infrastructure and other areas of specialised healthcare.

She appealed to individuals, businesses and corporate organisations in the region to support the Fund to enable it to expand its reach and help save more lives.

The Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Robert Amesiya, urged Ghanaians to “jealously guard” the GMTF, describing it as an important opportunity to strengthen the health system and improve access to critical medical services.

He stressed that collective support was essential to ensuring the Fund fulfilled its mandate, particularly for people who might otherwise be unable to afford specialised treatment.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, commended President John Dramani Mahama for establishing the Fund and welcomed the nationwide sensitisation campaign.

She said increased public awareness was necessary to ensure that the Fund’s interventions reached their intended beneficiaries.

Ocloo also called for stronger collaboration between the GMTF and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to prevent duplication of interventions and maximise the impact of available resources.

She assured the Fund of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council’s support in strengthening collaboration among stakeholders across the region.

The engagement brought together traditional authorities, healthcare officials and other stakeholders as the GMTF continues its nationwide tour to raise awareness of its programmes and mobilise support for improved access to specialised healthcare.