The Ghana Medical Trust Fund, nicknamed ‘MahamaCares’, has taken a major step in partnering with members of the National House of Chiefs to ensure the effective implementation of the policy.
The fund, established by Ghana Medical Trust Fund Act; Act 1144 (2025), seeks to cover the cost of care and medication for non-communicable diseases not captured in the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Board and management of the Fund met the House in Kumasi last Thursday to discuss the proposed collaboration to strengthen healthcare delivery and expand access to critical services for patients across the country.
The Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), Madam Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, at the meeting called on the National House of Chiefs to form a strategic partnership to drive community education and create widespread public awareness about the health intervention.
She emphasised the unique leadership and indispensable voices of chiefs to ensure that ordinary citizens, especially those in rural areas, learn about the Fund.
She noted that unbearable costs remain a growing burden for chronic conditions such as kidney disease requiring dialysis, cancers, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and sickle cell disease.
She stressed the devastating financial strain these illnesses place on families, forcing many to exhaust their life savings or sell farms and homes just to keep loved ones alive.
According to her, countless numbers of families across the country battle with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) but are not aware that such national support exists, while others are not sure about who qualifies to benefit from the intervention.
Madam Darko- Opoku noted that it is for this reason that the Fund was established and intends to launch grassroots campaigns through the direct endorsement and involvement of stakeholders, including chiefs, to ensure that no Ghanaian battling chronic diseases is deprived of financial support.
The Administrator noted that Traditional leaders remain the most trusted authorities within our communities hence the move to partner them to champion this important national initiative.
She explained that healthcare was one of the greatest investments a nation could make in its people since a healthy population is more productive to national development.
She said the Fund is centred around four key pillars namely; direct financial assistance for patients; investment in critical medical equipment and local health infrastructure; specialised training for healthcare professionals; and funding for targeted medical research in order to address the crisis comprehensively.
In the seven months of its establishment, Madam Opoku-Darko reported that a secretariat has been established, a governing board constituted, and a dedicated team recruited and conducted a nationwide assessment tour of healthcare facilities to identify infrastructure gaps, deployed a digital platform to process patient claims transparently and successfully run pilot beneficiary cases.
She said the Fund is also facilitating the establishment of three state-of-the-art cardiac centres at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
Madam Darko-Opoku noted that the ultimate success of the Trust Fund depends on collective efforts and counsel of chiefs to make it work to save lives.
She urged traditional authorities to advise management and help mobilise their people to ensure that no eligible Ghanaian is denied quality healthcare because of financial constraints.
The administrator in response to a question explained that the Fund does not provide support for any patient who seeks healthcare outside the borders of the country.
Dr. Norbert Kipo, Health Policy Advisor of GMTF announced that the Fund has an annual budget of GHc3 billion to support chronic diseases across Ghana and that the Fund is structured to support specialised high cost treatment for the ordinary Ghanaian and to ensure that financial hardship does not impede in health delivery.
He also disclosed that the Fund has a Monitoring and Evaluation framework to periodically assess the progress and impact of the programme to ensure continuity of the programme.
Dr. Kipo said 20% of the National Health Insurance levy goes to support the Fund and that Regional Coordinators have been engaged for community education as part of activities to ensure better understanding of the initiative.
The Health Policy advisor also said 30 health facilities across the country are to provide service for the Fund.
He said trusted voices such as those of chiefs could save lives, hence the partnership to help shape and champion development based on common purpose to seek the welfare of the people.
Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, President of the National House of Chiefs, described the intervention as excellent and urged traditional leaders, particularly Presidents of the Regional Houses of Chiefs, to mobilise their communities and raise awareness about the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
Ogyeahoho noted that it is unfortunate the Fund’s official operational guidelines had not yet been finalised adding that the delay is an impediment for chiefs to accurately disseminate information and effectively drive the awareness campaign.
Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi, however, expressed concerned over the sustainability of the intervention and explained his fears in the fact that Low Cost (Affordable Houses) by the Kufuor administration; Saglemi Housing Units by President Mahama; National Cathedral project and Agenda III project by Nana Akufo-Addo suffered delays and neglect with the change of governments and hoped the Mahama Cares project would not be politicised.
