The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, has assured the Ghana Medical Trust Fund of support and stronger collaboration to strengthen the Fund.
She said the mandate of the Fund in addressing specialized health needs and saving lives was critical hence the need for the support and collaboration.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister gave the assurance at a Stakeholders Engagement held in Accra on Thursday under the auspices of the GMTF in the as part of its nationwide sensitization tour.
The Shai Osudoku Member of Parliament later commended President John Dramani Mahama for establishing the GMTF and welcomed the Fund’s decision to embark on a nationwide sensitization campaign.
She said the public awareness was critical to ensuring that the Fund’s interventions reached their intended beneficiaries.
She also called for stronger collaboration between the GMTF and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to prevent duplication of interventions.
For her part, the Administrator of the Fund, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, said it was important for the GMTF’s message to reach every Ghanaian who had not yet heard about its work.
She said the perception of Greater Accra as a region of opportunities should not mask the harsh realities confronting families caring for relatives living with non-communicable diseases.
“Even here in Greater Accra, families go through enormous difficulties trying to care for relatives suffering from non-communicable diseases,” she said.
She explained that the GMTF was established to bridge critical gaps in healthcare delivery through interventions in medical equipment, financial support, infrastructure and other areas of specialised healthcare.
Ms Darko-Opoku appealed to individuals, businesses and corporate organisations in the region to support the Fund so it could extend its reach and help save more lives.
‘Protect the Fund’
The Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Robert Amesiya, also called on Ghanaians to “jealously guard” the GMTF, describing it as an important opportunity to strengthen the health system and improve access to critical healthcare services.
He said collective support was essential to ensuring that the Fund achieved its mandate, particularly for people who might otherwise be unable to afford specialized treatment.
Earlier, The Ga Mantse, His Royal Majesty King Nii Teiko Tsuru II, called for a healthcare system in which poverty does not determine who gets life-saving treatment and who is left to struggle with illness.
He said no Ghanaian should be denied quality healthcare simply because they could not afford the cost of treatment, particularly as the cost of specialized medical care continued to place enormous financial pressure on families.
According to him, the establishment of the GMTF was a significant intervention, especially for families struggling to meet the rising cost of specialized healthcare.
He urged stakeholders to take full advantage of the opportunities created by the Fund to ensure that vulnerable Ghanaians were not excluded from quality healthcare because of their financial circumstances.
The Ga Mantse also urged the GMTF to explore opportunities to strengthen maternal healthcare, saying such interventions would complement the Fund’s broader efforts to improve healthcare delivery.
Source:www.senaradioonline.com
