Free Primary Healthcare to cover all 261 districts by 2028 – President Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government plans to extend the Free Primary Healthcare Programme to all 261 districts across Ghana by the end of 2028.
According to President Mahama, the programme, which is designed to bring basic healthcare services closer to citizens, has already been rolled out in 135 districts since its launch earlier this year.
Speaking at a Free Primary Healthcare durbar at the Fiano Health Centre in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region, as part of his two-day Resetting Ghana Tour, President Mahama said the remaining 15 districts under the first phase would be brought onto the programme by the end of 2026.
He said the initiative was intended to address the challenge of distance, which prevents some Ghanaians from accessing healthcare even when they are covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
“Every country aims to achieve Universal Health Coverage, which simply means that every citizen should have access to affordable healthcare,” President Mahama said.
He explained that although NHIS coverage had increased from about 60 percent when his administration assumed office to 76 percent, the remaining 24 percent of the population still faced barriers to accessing healthcare.
“The problem is not money alone. The problem is the long distance people must travel to reach a health facility. When people cannot come to the health facility, government must take the health facility to the people,” he said.
Under the Free Primary Healthcare Programme, basic services at CHPS compounds, health centres and polyclinics—including diagnosis, treatment, antenatal and postnatal care, as well as treatment for common illnesses such as malaria, typhoid and diarrhoeal diseases—are provided free of charge.
President Mahama stressed that beneficiaries would not be required to have an NHIS card to access services at the primary healthcare level.
He said the programme would also focus strongly on preventive healthcare through community outreach and home visits by health professionals.
“These health professionals will not only receive patients at the clinic; on designated days, they will visit homes and screen families for common illnesses,” he said.
The President said the preventive component was particularly important because many Ghanaians live with conditions such as hypertension without knowing their health status.
He therefore encouraged citizens to undergo health screening at least once every year, noting that services such as blood pressure and blood sugar checks would be provided free of charge under the programme.
President Mahama also announced plans to establish Health Kiosks at busy commercial locations, including markets and lorry stations, to provide basic outpatient services and connect patients to doctors through telemedicine.
He said the government was also strengthening the capacity of primary healthcare facilities by distributing medical equipment, including home-visit diagnostic kits, motorcycles and tricycles to enable health workers to reach remote communities.
President Mahama said the expansion of Free Primary Healthcare formed part of the government’s broader efforts to achieve universal health coverage and improve health outcomes across the country.
He urged Ghanaians to register for and maintain their NHIS membership because patients requiring care beyond the primary healthcare level would still need the scheme when referred to district hospitals and other higher-level facilities.
