The Ghana Medical Trust Fund, often known as MahamaCares, states that there are now only two operational Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines in Ghanaian government hospitals, according to a report.
Beyond a shortage of MRI machines, public health facilities nationally have just five mammography machines and two radiotherapy machines, and there are only two cardiologists serving the entire northern region of Ghana, according to a nationwide needs assessment carried out by the fund.
Therefore, according to Administrator Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, one of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund’s top goals under the MahamaCares project is the purchase of more MRI machines.
On Monday, June 15, 2026, she was addressing in Accra at a ceremony at the President’s office where a GH6.1 million cheque was given to the fund.
According to her, the evaluation, which was conducted soon after the fund was established, revealed significant deficiencies in the nation’s ability to identify and manage chronic non-communicable diseases.
“The needs assessment guided our four strategic pillars: patient support, infrastructure and equipment, workforce development, and medical research,” Ms Darko-Opoku stated.
She explained that the results had influenced the fund’s intervention plans, which included initiatives to increase access to specialised medical treatment and equipment.
“Access to specialised healthcare should not depend on where you are coming from, your need or your income,” she stated.
Three cardiology centers at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and Tamale Teaching Hospital have started construction, according to Ms. Darko-Opoku.
She also mentioned that medical facilities all around the nation were receiving equipment for intensive care units and dialysis machines.
In the next years, the fund hopes to expand the number of chronic illness care specialists across all regions, she said.
“Our vision is that within a few years, every region in Ghana will have at least 10 specialists to provide advanced care for people living with chronic diseases,” she said.
Prior to this month’s statewide introduction of patient support services in 29 hospitals, she said the program’s pilot phase had already paid for 50 patients’ surgeries and chemotherapy treatments.
“These are not just medical successes, they are stories of restored hope,” according to Ms. Darko-Opoku.
President John Dramani Mahama’s six-month salary contribution, one-month pay donations from presidential appointees and personnel, and deductions from officials who missed the asset disclosure deadline made up the GH¢6.1 million gift made during the event.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Administration at the Office of the President, stated that appointees who had not yet fulfilled their declaration responsibilities were required to make further payments.
Citing one medical facility that received 5,000 new diabetes referrals in the first half of 2025, she said that the need for chronic illness treatment was still growing.
“These are not just statistics, they are our people, our family, our relatives,” Nana Oye Bampoe Addo said.
The Ghana Medical Trust Fund would need roughly GH¢3 billion a year in its first three years of operation, according to Nana Oye Bampoe Addo.
Under the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Act, 2025 (Act 1144), Parliament authorised GH¢2.9 billion for the fund in 2025.
She urged Ghanaians, businesses, and charitable organisations to back the MahamaCares project.
“We are making a passionate appeal for more donations for the trust fund to save more Ghanaian lives. We know you will hear, you will dig deep in your pockets and contribute,” she said.
The call was echoed by Ms. Darko-Opoku.
“The fight against chronic non-communicable disease belongs to all of us. History will remember us for the lives we touched, not what positions we held,” she stated.
Ghanaians can use any mobile network to dial *255# if they would like to contribute.
Source: newsthemegh.com