The Health Minister, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has disclosed that the government is set to upgrade several regional hospitals into teaching hospitals as part of a comprehensive strategy to address Ghana’s growing deficit in specialist doctors.
Hon. Akandoh declared this while shedding more light on the government’s rolled out health support scheme dubbed “Mahama Cares,” designed to complement the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) by covering chronic conditions not currently catered for.
“What we are doing is that we are trying to take off from where national health insurance ends… So we are coming to build on whatever national health insurance is unable to continue”
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
The Minister explained that since placing the full burden of chronic disease care on the NHIS is unsustainable, Mahama Cares has therefore been structured as a complementary programme with independent funding streams.
“So we decided to take a portion, go look for funding from elsewhere, combine them, and then begin to run that scheme to provide relief to families with these chronic diseases”
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
The Health Minister revealed that the scheme will require approximately GHS3 billion per year in its early stages. A portion of this funding will come from the uncapped portion of existing health funds, with the remainder sourced through other government mechanisms.
“We need about 3,000,000,000 Ghana cedis for the first year, second year too we need about 3,000,000,000″
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
Hon. Akandoh likened Mahama Cares to the early days of NHIS, where coverage began with a few illnesses and gradually expanded over time. The new scheme will initially focus on chronic ailments including cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
According to Hon. Akandoh, the government has completed the necessary policy and legislative groundwork to enable adequate state treatment of chronic illnesses under Mahama Cares. He confirmed that both the policy document and the corresponding bill are ready, and will be submitted to Parliament immediately after recess.
He further disclosed that funding is already secured through the upcoming National Health Insurance formula for 2025. The urgency behind the recently launched initiative, he stressed, stems from the country’s long-standing experience with inadequate access to specialist care and high cost of chronic illness treatments.
Hon. Akandoh described the President’s health sector initiative as one that has been carefully prepared for, asserting that the operationalization phase would be built on a solid base of stakeholder consultation and public support.
“We have experienced the need, we have spoken to the experts in the field too. We even did a survey. About 3,300 people responded… and about 79% clearly indicated that it is necessary”
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
A Deficit Acknowledged
In tandem with the Mahama Cares, the health minister mentioned the hospital upgrade plan, which he said will fall in line soon.
The initiative forms part of a broader health reform agenda under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, aimed at expanding access to specialist care, particularly in the treatment of chronic diseases.
The Health Minister shared a revealing moment during the launch of the Mahama Cares when Professor Adanu from the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons highlighted the scale of Ghana’s specialist doctor shortage, estimating a need for over 60,000 specialists.
“At that point, when Professor Adanu was talking, the president turned to me and asked me whether or not I’m writing”
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
Hon. Akandoh affirmed his close working relationship with Professor Richard Adanu, noting that they have been exploring concrete proposals to close the specialist gap. One such proposal, now gaining traction within government, is to convert capable regional hospitals into training centres for medical specialists.
“We’ve also listened widely and one of the proposals is to be able to upgrade the other regular hospitals, and make them teaching hospitals… and it’s doable so we’ll be looking in that direction to fill the deficit”
Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Health Minister
He identified chronic disease management to be tackled by Mahama Cares as one of the key pressure points in Ghana’s health system, which makes the expansion of specialist training capacity both necessary and urgent.
President Mahama, who resumed office in 2025, has committed to revitalising Ghana’s healthcare system through investment, policy reform, and inclusive public health coverage. The dual strategy of launching Mahama Cares and expanding teaching capacity appears set to become a cornerstone of that agenda.
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