By Iddi Yire
Accra, Sept. 24, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has highlighted Ghana’s Free Primary Healthcare Programme and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as MahamaCare, as part of the country’s efforts to improve access to healthcare.
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, President Mahama said Ghana had launched the Free Primary Healthcare Programme to ensure that every Ghanaian could access essential primary healthcare services at the community level at no cost.
He said the programme had been hailed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations as a paradigm shift for the Global South, with the model being studied by other countries seeking to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
President Mahama said alongside the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Ghana had introduced the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as MahamaCare, to support Ghanaians suffering from non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
He said the Fund would help provide subsidised and affordable care for people suffering from conditions such as renal failure, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Touching on democracy, President Mahama said he had always believed that democratic governance must deliver tangible social benefits to citizens.
He said citizens must experience the benefits of democracy not only through the ballot box every four years, but also through improved access to food, quality education, decent housing, accessible healthcare and economic opportunities.
The President said democracy lost its soul when it protected the privileges of the elite while abandoning the vulnerable.
He described Ghana as an uncompromising beacon of constitutional democracy, media freedom, the rule of law and peaceful transitions of power on the African continent.
President Mahama said those domestic achievements had set the stage for two historic milestones ahead.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah