Free parimary health care to cover all districts by 2028 — Health Minister

The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has announced that the Free Primary Health Care programme will be extended to all 261 districts across the country by the end of 2028.

He said the programme would begin in 150 underserved districts, with the selected districts spread across the regions to ensure that communities with limited access to healthcare receive priority.

The Minister announced this at Gavit in the Upper East Region. He said the government had secured more than 24,000 pieces of medical equipment for distribution across the country to support the implementation of the programme.

According to him, about 9,000 health kits, including the red bags used by health workers, would be deployed, with the Upper East Region receiving about 1,320.

He said the government had also released funds to the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover payments for July to September, with the quarterly cost estimated at GH¢35 million.

Mr Akandoh said the Free Primary Health Care programme would operate from Community-based Health Planning and Services compounds through health centres to polyclinics.

He explained that the programme would cover both preventive and curative services at those levels, including the treatment of malaria, respiratory diseases and diarrhoea.

He said the programme represented a change in the approach to healthcare financing, as the government would now pay for disease prevention rather than focusing only on the treatment of illnesses.

The Minister stated that the Free Primary Health Care programme, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as Mahama Cares, would complement one another.

He explained that while Free Primary Health Care would cover services up to the polyclinic level, patients referred to district, regional or teaching hospitals would require coverage under the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He therefore urged Ghanaians to enrol on the National Health Insurance Scheme, with the government targeting more than 90 per cent coverage by the end of 2028.

He said Mahama Cares would provide additional support for conditions not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, including cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases.

The Minister also urged chiefs, traditional rulers, religious leaders and members of the public to support health professionals who would visit communities and homes to provide preventive health services.

“The involvement of health workers in communities would help people adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce the incidence of preventable diseases,” he said.

The Minister said the three interventions were designed to provide a pathway from primary healthcare to health insurance and further support for diseases requiring additional assistance.