By Anthony Adongo Apubeo, GNA
Zuarungu (U/E), Aug. 14, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has launched the Free Primary Healthcare programme in the Bolgatanga East District of the Upper East Region.
During the launch of the programme at Zuarungu, the District capital, President Mahama described the initiative as a major intervention aimed to expand access to preventive healthcare, to achieve universal health coverage.
The programme, which focused on preventive healthcare, will involve community health nurses and health volunteers conducting regular home visits to screen residents for conditions including hypertension and diabetes, as well as monitor pregnant women and newborns.
President Mahama said the home visits were the most important component of the programme because they would enable health workers to identify diseases early and refer patients to appropriate health facilities.
He said Ghana’s healthcare system now had three levels of coverage namely; Free Primary Healthcare at the basic level, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) at the secondary level, and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund for complex and expensive illnesses at the tertiary level.
“The most important part for me is what we are doing here today with these home visits,” he said.
The President explained that the Free Primary Healthcare programme covered health kiosks, Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, health centres and polyclinics.
He said the initiative was designed to emphasise prevention, rather than waiting for people to become seriously ill before seeking treatment.
President Mahama urged residents to take advantage of the home visits and undergo regular health checks, particularly for hypertension and diabetes.
The President also urged pregnant women to attend antenatal care regularly, saying health workers undertaking home visits would monitor pregnant women and refer those who had not commenced antenatal care to health facilities.
He said newborn babies would also be monitored to ensure their proper growth and receive the necessary vaccinations.
On the National Health Insurance Scheme, President Mahama commended the management of the scheme and said the government had uncapped its funding to enable it to promptly pay healthcare providers.
President Mahama further said the government was working to strengthen the country’s pharmaceutical industry and reduce dependency on imported medicines.
He said Ghana currently imported about 70 per cent of the medicines it used, but the government had received a five-year plan aimed at developing the local pharmaceutical industry to produce medicines for domestic consumption and export.
The President said the move would help reduce the cost of medicines and make it easier for the government to provide essential drugs under the Free Primary Healthcare programme.
He also said the government was equipping major hospitals to improve the diagnosis and treatment of complex illnesses under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund.
President Mahama said a fully equipped cardiothoracic facility was being developed in Tamale, to provide specialised treatment for patients in the northern part of the country, including those from the Upper East Region.
“People should not die because of where you were born or where you live. Everybody has a right to good healthcare,” President Mahama said.
Mr Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, said as part of the implementation of the Free Primary Healthcare programme, about 24,000 medical equipment were distributed across the country.
As part of the launch, the President handed over 1,320 medical equipment such as test kits, bags, motorbikes, beds, incubators, monitors among others to the Upper East Regional Health Directorate.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Email: [email protected]