By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu
Navrongo (U/E), Sept. 10, GNA – The Government has reiterated its commitment to expanding access to healthcare through the implementation of the Free Primary Health Care (FPHC) policy, aimed at advancing Ghana’s goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Minister for Health, stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Navro-Pio, Pe Denis Aneakwoa Balinia Adda Asagpaare II, Paramount Chief of the Navrongo Traditional Area, at his palace during a monitoring visit to assess the implementation of the FPHC programme in the area.
He explained that the policy was introduced to ensure that all Ghanaians, particularly those in underserved communities, had access to essential healthcare services regardless of their location or ability to pay.
“When we say Universal Health Coverage, what we mean is that any Ghanaian living anywhere in the country, when that person needs a particular health care service, that service must be available to the person. It must be accessible, it must be affordable,” he said.
According to the Minister, although the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had played a significant role in expanding healthcare access, some Ghanaians remained outside its coverage.
Mr Akandoh, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Juaboso Constituency in the Western North region, said the FPHC initiative was designed to complement, rather than replace, the NHIS.
“The Free Primary Health Care has not come to replace the National Health Insurance. It is complementing the National Health Insurance. It will reduce the pressure on the National Health Insurance,” the Minister stated.
Under the initiative, health professionals will visit communities and households to conduct basic health screenings, including checks on blood pressure, blood sugar levels and body mass index.
Mr Akandoh said the approach would facilitate disease prevention and early detection before conditions developed into more complicated health challenges.
“If there is a need for us to prevent the disease, we will prevent it before it even happens in the first place, and if there is a need for us to detect it early, we do so on time,” he said.
The Minister added that services provided under the programme would be offered free of charge to beneficiaries.
He indicated that the first phase of the programme targeted 150 districts, with implementation already underway in about 135 districts across all 16 regions of the country.
Mr Akandoh noted that priority was given to underserved districts, explaining that all 15 districts in the Upper East Region were included in the first phase because of the region’s underserved status.
“We have provided them with all the necessary equipment,” he said, adding that modern medical equipment had been supplied to health facilities participating in the programme.
He said the Government had also equipped health workers with mobile kits containing the tools required to conduct household-level health assessments.
According to the Minister, the initiative would enable health workers to identify patients who required further medical attention and refer them to Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, health centres, polyclinics or hospitals where necessary.
To improve the mobility of health workers, Mr Akandoh disclosed that the Government would provide about 7,000 motorbikes and tricycles, some of which had already been distributed.
He said the mobility support would enhance the ability of health professionals to reach communities and households more effectively.
The Minister encouraged Ghanaians to take advantage of the initiative, stressing that access to FPHC services would not depend on whether an individual possessed an NHIS card.
“Whether you have the National Health Insurance card or not, all you need to do is to walk in and the health professionals will assist you go through the processes,” he said.
Mr Akandoh urged the public to embrace the programme as part of efforts to promote preventive healthcare, improve early disease detection and reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare system.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Lydia Kukua Asamoah