The Government has announced plans to implement a Free Primary Healthcare Programme for all Ghanaians.
First Lady Lordina Mahama said the programme “will come with the provision of CHPS compounds and health centres in our communities to make access to the facilities easier.”
Under the programme the government would upgrade community and district health facilities across the country to international actors in New York, soliciting their support.
Mrs. Mahama made the acknowledgment at a fundraising gala organised by the Africa Development Foundation and Helping Africa Foundation in New York, USA, to support the Lordina Foundation’s maternity project.
The announcement on the Free Primary Healthcare programme, contained in a statement issued by the Office of the First Lady, said the First Lady said the John Mahama Administration “has responded positively to the challenges” highlighted by the Foundation’s work across the country.
“Existing district hospitals and polyclinics will be upgraded with equipment and medical personnel,” she added.
Mrs. Mahama, who is the Founder and President of the Lordina Foundation, told her audience that more than 3,000 Ghanaian babies die each month before their first birthday, with an infant mortality rate of 52 deaths per 1,000 live births, and a maternal mortality rate of 103 per 100,000 live births.
“No mother, anywhere, should face childbirth gripped by such fear for her life or her baby,” she said.
The First Lady called for continued oversight to ensure government commitments translate into on-the-ground improvements.
“My advocacy as First Lady, in collaboration with my sister, the Vice President of Ghana, is to ensure that the Chief of Staff and the Minister for Health fulfil the government’s promises to the people,” she said.
The Lordina Foundation has previously constructed and equipped three model maternity and children’s wards in Bole, Nkoranza and Bodom, and carried out renovations at other centres, such as the Hohoe and the Adabraka Health Centres.
At the New York event, she asked donors to support the expansion of those efforts as the Foundation “steps onto a truly international stage” to amplify its impact and complement public sector reforms.
GNA
