THE Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has urged traditional authorities, religious leaders, health professionals and other stakeholders in the Eastern Region to intensify public education on the operations and access requirements of the Fund.
She said effective collaboration with community leaders and institutions was essential to ensuring that patients with chronic non-communicable diseases benefited from the financial and medical support provided by the Fund.
Speaking at a regional stakeholders’ engagement in Koforidua on Wednesday, as part of the Fund’s nationwide sensitisation tour, Mrs Darko-Opoku said the initiative, also known as MahamaCares, was established to ease the financial burden on patients requiring specialised treatment for cancer, kidney diseases and cardiovascular conditions.
She explained that such conditions often required prolonged treatment, specialised investigations and procedures, placing considerable financial pressure on patients and their families.
Mrs Darko-Opoku said the Fund’s interventions were anchored on four pillars: financial support for eligible patients; provision of medical equipment and infrastructure; specialist training and human capacity development; and research and innovation.
She stressed that financial assistance must be complemented by the availability of appropriate equipment, qualified health professionals and well-resourced medical facilities to ensure quality healthcare delivery.
She said the Fund had undertaken a nationwide needs assessment involving teaching, regional and other referral hospitals to identify gaps in equipment, infrastructure and specialist capacity.
She announced that the Fund was collaborating with the Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua and St Dominic Hospital in Akwatia to extend its services to residents of the region.
Mrs Darko-Opoku urged traditional leaders, queen mothers, religious leaders and local authorities to help disseminate accurate information about the Fund, while encouraging health professionals to guide prospective beneficiaries through the appropriate procedures.
She also appealed to the media, particularly journalists who communicated in local languages, to take information about the Fund to households and communities.
For her part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Mrs Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, said the Fund would provide financial relief to people living with chronic diseases and improve access to specialised healthcare.
She said the high cost of treating such conditions forced some families to exhaust their savings, borrow money or choose between medical treatment and other essential needs.
Mrs Awatey said the initiative presented an opportunity to strengthen healthcare delivery and accelerate Ghana’s progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
She called for intensified public education on the Fund’s eligibility requirements, application procedures and channels for accessing assistance.
The Minister pledged the support of the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council towards the implementation of the initiative and urged health facility managers to ensure transparency in the management of public resources and minimise waste through sound procurement practices.
BY AMA TEKYIWAA AMPADU AGYEMAN, KOFORIDUA
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