No family should be crushed by the cost of chronic illness - GMTF Boss

The Ghana Medical Trust Fund (GMTF), popularly known as Mahama Cares, is set to extend its regional sensitisation tour to the Northern and Upper East Regions following earlier engagements in the Western, Central, Greater Accra and Volta regions.

The tour forms part of the Fund’s efforts to deepen public understanding of its mandate, promote early detection of chronic non-communicable diseases and improve access to specialised healthcare for patients across the country.

The upcoming engagements will focus on educating residents and stakeholders on the Fund’s interventions, eligibility requirements for patient support and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses, including cancer.

The initiative is also expected to bring together regional authorities, traditional leaders, health professionals, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to discuss healthcare challenges and explore practical ways to strengthen specialised medical services.

Under the message that “No family should be crushed by the cost of chronic illness,” the Fund seeks to highlight the financial burden of treating chronic diseases and the need for coordinated interventions to ensure that patients are not denied essential care because of their inability to pay.

The engagements are expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to identify gaps in healthcare delivery, including shortages of medical equipment, limited diagnostic services, inadequate specialist care and financial barriers to treatment.

Administrator of the Fund, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, is expected to reinforce the importance of collaboration among government agencies, health institutions, local authorities and development partners in addressing these challenges.

The campaign will also seek to improve public awareness of how eligible patients can access support from the Fund, ensuring that information about its interventions reaches communities that need specialised healthcare services.

The upcoming tour builds on earlier sensitisation activities in the Western, Central, Greater Accra and Volta regions, where the Fund engaged stakeholders on its mandate, healthcare priorities and the need for stronger partnerships to improve patient outcomes.

The extension of the campaign to the Northern and Upper East Regions underscores GMTF’s commitment to engaging stakeholders across the country and promoting a more accessible and responsive specialised healthcare system.

As the Fund reflects on its first year of operations, the sensitisation campaign is expected to strengthen public awareness and stakeholder collaboration towards ensuring that financial hardship does not stand between patients and life-saving treatment.