The Ghana Medical Trust Fund (MahamaCares) will begin its first phase of support next month, focusing on cancer care, including four major childhood cancers, due to rising incidence and high treatment costs.
Administrator Obuobia Darko-Opoku announced a phased rollout rather than covering all chronic diseases at once.
Patient navigators and zonal coordinators have been trained and will be deployed across 21 facilities, expanding to 30 centres by including private and quasi-government hospitals.
A February pilot supporting 50 patients cost nearly GH¢4.8 million.
The fund has identified severe equipment shortages nationwide: only two functional radiotherapy machines (both in Accra, causing up to four-month waits) and about five mammogram machines countrywide.
MahamaCares will complement the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for complex, high-cost cases.
Vice-President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang stressed the need to address regional healthcare disparities, especially in northern Ghana.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh noted that only 35% of hypertensives know their condition, adding that free primary care and MahamaCares will provide a crucial safety net.
